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2 $ AUGUST 21, 2026 | VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 18 YOUR PURCHASE BENEFITS THE VENDORS. PLEASE BUY ONLY FROM BADGED VENDORS. "Uncertain:" winter shelter in Washtenaw County will look different this season. page 4 MEET YOUR VENDOR: MICHAEL MONTAGANO PAGE 3 GROUNDCOVER NEWS AND SOLUTIONS FROM THE GROUND UP | WASHTENAW COUNTY, MICH. A ray of Ypsilanti sunSHINE. page 7 THIS PAPER WAS BOUGHT FROM Mayor Nicole Brown and Downtown Development Authority Director Elize Jekabson, along with other city staff, shadowed SHINE workers (in their purple vests) for a day in June 2026. Photo credit: City of Ypsilanti. • Proposal: Housing-development accelerator • Charbonneau: Open your eyes to housing inequity. PAGE 4 @groundcovernews, include vendor name and vendor #

2 GROUNDCOVER NEWS GROUNDCOVER AUGUST 21, 2026 PROVIDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELFDETERMINED INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY POVERTY, PRODUCING A STREET NEWSPAPER THAT GIVES A PLATFORM TO UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES IN WASHTENAW COUNTY, PROMOTING AN ACTION TO BUILD A JUST, CARING AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETY. Groundcover News, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in April 2010 as a means to empower lowincome persons to make the transitions from homeless to housed, and from jobless to employed. Vendors purchase each copy of our regular editions of Groundcover News at our office for 50 cents. This money goes towards production costs. Vendors work selling the paper on the street for $2, keeping all income and tips from each sale. Vendors are the main contributors to the paper, and are compensated to write and report. Street papers like Groundcover News exist in cities all over the United States, as well as in more than 40 other countries, in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people and combat the increase in poverty. Our paper is a proud member of the International Network of Street Papers. All art sale proceeds go to GCN! Free and open to the public! STAFF Lindsay Calka — publisher Cynthia Price — editor ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS Joseph Alexie-Ruff Pedro Campos Jay Cooper David Crane Luiza Duarte Caetano Cindy Gere Jeffrey Grouwstra Kionte Jones Mike Jones Aenea Kanaan Marie Khalil Muhammad Colleen Sadows Denise Shearer Snow Anke van der Meer Felicia Wilbert PROOFREADERS Susan Beckett June Miller Anabel Sicko Talbot Hack VOLUNTEERS Jane Atkins Jessi Averill Libby Chambers Jacob Fallman Ben Foster Glenn Gates Robert Klingler Aklesia Maereg Margaret Patston Mary Wisgerhof Max Wisgerhof BOARD of DIRECTORS Jacob Fallman Shelley DeNeve Jessi Averill Steve Borgsdorf Anna Gersh Greg Hoffman Jack Edelstein Glenn Gates Hailu Shitaye Felicia Wilbert CONTACT US Story and photo submissions: submissions@groundcovernews.com Advertising and partnerships: contact@groundcovernews.com Office: 423 S. 4th Ave., Ann Arbor Mon-Sat, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Phone: 734-263-2098 @groundcover @groundcovernews DONATE, LISTEN TO OLD ISSUES + LEARN MORE www.groundcovernews.org WAYS TO SUPPORT 1. Buy the paper, read the paper. 2. Get the word out — We rely on grassroots marketing. Talk to people about Groundcover and share us with your network. 3. Volunteer — You'll learn a lot about our vendors, the newspaper and your community. Interested in volunteering regularly? Fill out the form on our website. 4. Advertise your company, organization, event or resource — see rates below. 5. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram — promote our posts and share your favorite articles and vendor interactions. 6. Donate items — A seasonally appropriate list of items most needed at our office and on the street is available on our website. Drop off anytime we're open. For more information visit www.crazywisdombookstore.com/events

AUGUST 21, 2026 ON MY CORNER MEET YOUR VENDOR To all the wonderful CINDY GERE Groundcover vendor No. 279 patrons of Panda and the vendors, to each person who takes the time to pay for the Groundcover News paper — a huge massive thank you! We at Groundcover totally appreciate your generosity. To all those who made donations over this past Michael Montagano, Groundcover vendor No. 640 In one sentence, who are you? I am a son, brother and a Father. Where do you usually sell Groundcover? The co-op in Ann Arbor. When and why did you start selling Groundcover? A year ago … I needed money! What is one place in Ann Arbor that feels like your own personal sanctuary? Under a bridge. What’s your life motto? Take it easy. What advice would you give to your younger self? Free your mind and your body will fall. What is your comfort food? Peanuts. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what would they be? Other people, fire and a radio. If there was a theme song for your life, what would it be? “Let It Be” by The Beatles. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? The Pyramids. What would YOU ask? If you have a question or issue you would like Groundcover vendors to discuss, email us at contact@groundcovernews.com We will be featuring vendor responses in future issues. Touched by an Angel Even though "Touched by an Angel" is a television show from the 1990s and early 2000s, I still love to watch it. It has some of my favorite actors from other TV shows in it, like Nell Carter, some actors from "The Golden Girls," and Bill Cosby. The reason why it is one of my favorite TV shows is because it is about God and Jesus. Another reason is because it is fun and uplifting. There is some humor in it and the angels make the show fun while also being inspirational. I remember an episode that had two of my favorite singers in it: BB King and Randy Travis. It was an episode about a man’s grandson who wanted to put him in a nursing home out of fear that he could not take care DENISE SHEARER Groundcover vendor No. 485 of himself. The man owned a night club where different musicians performed. Because of the angels, the man got a chance to hold one last open mic with BB King and friends before he passed away. Instead of the grandson putting his grandfather in a nursing home, the man went to heaven while the open mic was happening. The grandson was sad about his grandfather’s passing. "Touched by an Angel" is an inspirational, comforting, and uplifting show and it has very good music in it. I like to watch the reruns but I wish there was a new version of the show for today. If there was a new version more people could learn about how great of a show it is. GROUNDCOVER NEWS From the desk of Panda year that go back into operations and assisting the street vendors and writers, another thank you. Groundcover News changes lives as it brings new opportunities, and people thrive. As I always say, "Never give up, never give in, and always have a smile on your face.” 3 U-M student athlete Conner Pierce supports Groundcover, you should too! JOSEPH ALEXIE-RUFF Groundcover vendor No. 649 Conner Pierce is a track and field adaptive sports student athlete at the University of Michigan earning a Masters degree in Sports Management. He is a Gold medal Para-Olympian in the 400 meters. In 2022, he set the Men's 10,000 meters World Record for the T36 Classification. Joe: What did you study before coming to U-M? Conner: I got a Bachelors degree in Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia. There I ran able-bodied Varsity Track. Joe: How did you hear about Groundcover? Conner: Well, I knew you [Joe], but before that I would see unhoused people selling and we had a similar program in Seattle, Real Change, that would provide a similar job opportunity. Joe: Why do you support Groundcover? Conner: I support Groundcover because I have a disability and Groundcover gives the opportunity to other people with a disability to have a job and build their resume. It gives people the opportunity to express their story. When you need help, help is there to get out of homelessness. Go Blue!

4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS SHELTER AUGUST 21, 2026 "Uncertain:" winter shelter in Washtenaw County will look different this season Monday, August 3, Shelter Association of Washtenaw County Executive Director Nicole Adelman sent out an email sounding an alarm. With no direct ask to the public, the email announced that a newly-enforced building code at the Delonis Center will force a reduction in overnight winter capacity from “no one turned away” to just 52. On its busiest night last winter, the Shelter Association sheltered 242 people. Stagnating permanent supportive housing due to federal instability (as reported in July 24, 2026 edition), increased need due to welfare funding cuts and Medicaid and SNAP eligibility changes, and now a reduction in winter shelter beds by more than 50% — it doesn’t take an expert to understand this winter shelter season will have to look different from years past. On August 5, the Winter Shelter Task Force, a working group of the Washtenaw Continuum of Care, presented to the County Board of Commissioners in a similar tone to Adelman’s email. Since 2023, the task force has convened throughout the spring and summer to plan upcoming emergency winter seasonal shelter, divert shelter system inflow and ensure safety during the winter months, working in partnership with county staff. Amanda Carlisle, Executive Director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, walked the Commissioners through the 2026 Continuum of Care (CoC) grant changes and the potential $3M in jeopardy. Adelman, also a member of the task force, presented the shelter bed reduction, an overview of the winter shelter data from 2025-26, and potential actions for the Board. The ask from the County, framed as a “stop-gap” $1.5 million, was presented reflecting the deliberations of the task force. $1.5 million would respond to immediate emergency shelter demand this 2026-27 winter season. More investment – such as the purchase of a hotel and creating a second, permanent emergency shelter on the east side of the county – would support longer-term solutions historically avoided every year because of limited seasonal planning. The taskforce also suggested the County ask other municipalities (such as Ypsilanti Twp and Pittsfield Twp) to contribute funding or resources, talk to other counties about regional coordination (Warren closed its homeless shelter July 2026, increased criminalization in Jackson) and support mutual the same — 60 beds on the second, third, and fourth floors. The waitlist for a bed like this is, on average, 6-9 months. Those who do not have a residential LINDSAY CALKA Publisher aid groups that fill gaps. As reported August 7, County Commissioners allocated $100K to MISSION for the purposes of the Daytime Warming Center; this was just one item in the larger, $2.5 million resolution. Other allocations included: $700K in eviction prevention; this funds six months of SOS Community Services case management, and direct assistance dollars and administrative staff through the Office of Community and Economic Development’s Barrier Buster program. $120K for Rapid Rehousing for families; funding will go to SOS Community Services whose funding was in jeopardy due to the CoC grant mandates to defund permanent supportive housing. $50K for Western Washtenaw support; funding will likely be determined through a mini-grant Request for Proposal process. $215K for Overflow Shelter Staff; funding will be through SAWC for case management staff. $1.319M for Overflow Emergency Shelter — Shelter Association operational staff, Alpha House case management and operational staff, hotel rooms and other costs that come with hotel sheltering (transportation, food, security). The Board debated the merits of purchasing a hotel; many Commissioners recognized it as a fiscally responsible choice after many seasons of expensive, emergency hotel room sheltering in dangerous winter and summer climates. No decision regarding hotel purchase was made at the August 5 meeting, but the board ultimately approved $2.5M — almost double the “stop-gap” ask. So, what does all of this mean for the daily operations of winter shelters this season? Overnight shelter The Delonis Center’s residential program in downtown Ann Arbor will look bed will have the “option” to shelter on the first floor (now only 52 beds), or at the Ypsilanti offsite, which in years past has been housed at churches close to downtown, capped at 25 beds. The Shelter Association's men’s rotation program will also provide shelter to 25 participating sober men, contingent on partnership with congregation spaces. To replace the lost beds on Delonis’ first floor, the Shelter Association plans to contract with a local hotel to provide 65 rooms for roughly 100 individuals. It is still being determined how individuals will be chosen and when and where they should access this emergency overflow shelter. It is important to note that these options cannot be accessed by individuals trespassed from the Delonis Center, which historically increases throughout the winter season. At its peak, 80 individuals were trespassed last winter. Families will continue to shelter at Alpha House sites, but it is predicted that the Trinity Health site will be at capacity within the next few weeks. Alpha House will be using rooms at the hotel site for emergency shelter for 10-15 families. Shonagh Taruza, Executive Director of IHN at Alpha House, commented, “There are so many unknowns given the chaotic season we find ourselves in. We are doing our best to prepare for a tough winter, while hoping that the eviction prevention dollars, which are also a part of winter sheltering, will help keep families in their homes, the best outcome. We do know however that there are probably families who have already lost their housing who will show up in our system when the weather gets cold. "We have been working collaboratively with Delonis/SAWC, the BOC, the Winter Shelter Taskforce, and grassroots orgs like Peace House Ypsi and Fed Up Ministries on a true community response. The way we have all come together and are being proactive, gives me incredible hope for our community.” Daytime shelter For the first winter since the partnership with the City of Ypsilanti began in 2020, the Ypsilanti Freighthouse is not reserved for daytime warming this winter. Another change for the upcoming season is that the Shelter Association will be running a daytime shelter in both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, in collaboration with congregation spaces. The Daytime Warming Center will be operating independently from the Shelter Association this year. The DWC staffing collective and community supporters are currently planning with the purpose of filling SAWC and Alpha House gaps and do not have concrete details to share at this time. Both daytime programs are scrambling for host sites. Story update: Injunction against CoC grant Proactive planning from service providers and government funders is a response to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s FY26 Continuum of Care grant solicitation. On August 7 Judge Mary Elroy from Rhode Island invalidated HUD’s FY26 CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity in its entirety, finding its development violated the Administrative Procedures Act. HUD lacks the statutory authority to shift away from permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing as effective programs towards other activities unless they are “based on research and after notice and comment to the public, to have been proven effective at reducing homelessness generally, reducing homelessness for a specific subpopulation, or achieving homeless prevention and independent living goals.” Because HUD failed to conduct this notice and comment period, it violated the APA. “I am relieved for now that the harmful cuts to permanent housing, which this NOFO essentially required communities to make, are paused. But there is just a lot of uncertainty about the future of this funding, which provides critical resources that help people exit homelessness to housing,” commented Amanda Carlisle. HUD is under a Congressionally imposed deadline from the FY26 Consolidated Appropriations Act to make grant awards by December 1, 2026. Winter shelter programs are expected to start mid-November. An exact schedule and winter shelter plan will be released by SAWC and the Washtenaw County Office of Community Economic Development much closer to the November start date.

AUGUST 21, 2026 IN MEMORIAM In loving memory of Shawn Hardman AUGUST 4, 1978 - JULY 2026 At his August 11 memorial, loved ones of Shawn Hardman shared memories from his life. It was apparent he deeply cared for the people around him with both emotional and survival support. Shawn was a talented sketch, portrait and tattoo artist. He is pictured below drawing at the Daytime Warming Center where many spent quality time with him in his final years. He is survived by his children, his brother Jesse Hardman, his sister Nina Perry and brother-in-law Jason Perry. He will be remembered as a generous, helpful and light-hearted member of the Ypsilanti street community. He will be missed very much. Colors of His Presence by Monique Caldwell He lived big, A friend whose presence filled the air before he spoke— his laugh thundered, his smile shined, his energy restless, joyful, impossible to ignore. He was an artist at heart, everything in him– His kindness, laughter, even sorrow— bled out in colors of his talent. Bright reds for his warmth, gold for the help he gave freely, deep blues for the sadness he carried quietly, never wanting us to see. He painted louder, laughed harder, gave more than he had to give. And that's how he will be remembered— in the colors that still shine, in the kindness that lingers, in the echo of his laugh, lifting the air all around us. Shawn your friendship will be missed. community EVENTS PARKRIDGE SUMMERFEST Saturday, August 22, 12.m.-6 p.m. Parkridge Park, Ypsilanti. Joe Dulin Day brings community together, celebrates Ypsilanti’s long history, and provides information about resources and services that are available to Washtenaw County residents. Groundcover is tabling! SONIC LUNCH: MAVIS STAPLES Thursday, August 27, 11:30 a.m. (doors close when seats are full). Michigan Theater. This legendary 86-year-old gospel, soul and R&B diva possesses a quintessentially gospel voice. With a trademark blend of muscular power and shimmering grace punctuated at times with a startling growl, her luminous singing is designed to, in her words, “leave people feeling better than when I found them.” Opener: Mei Semones performs jazz-influenced indie pop originals with lyrics in both Japanese and English. ANN ARBOR LOCAL FOOD FESTIVAL Thursday, Aug. 27, 5–8 p.m. Ann Arbor Farmers Market. The free event will feature a mix of demonstrations, tastings, food trucks, live music, games and interactive learning opportunities that showcase the value of a strong local food system. AADL MENTAL WELLNESS BOOK CLUB Thursday, August 27, 6-7:30pm. AADL downtown, 4th floor. All invited to join a discussion of San-Francisco based writer and advocate Esme Weijun Wang’s 2019 collection of essays "The Collected Schizophrenias" that explores her experience with schizoaffective disorder. Presented in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Washtenaw County. DANCE SHOWCASE: SHAPE//MATTER Thursday and Friday, August 27 and 28, 8 p.m. Liberty Plaza, E. Liberty at S. Division, Ann Arbor. Outdoor tap, tango, hip-hop and modern dance performances by regional dance troupes. YPSI PRIDE Sunday, August 30, all day starting at 12 p.m. Depot Town Ypsilanti., Cross Street from N Huron to River Streets. An all-day celebration of Ypsilanti’s queer community featuring music, drag, entertainment, local vendors, food and friends! Family focused activities12-4 p.m. Stage show starts at 2 p.m. JOHN E. LAWRENCE SUMMER JAZZ SERIES Fridays, July 31-August 28, 7-9 p.m. Ford Lake Park, 9075 S. Huron River Drive, Ypsilanti. Free smooth jazz concerts; bring your own lawn chairs, blankets and coolers and head on down. Free entry, $20 parking fee. August 28: Johnathan Butler. Submit an event to be featured in the next edition: submissions@groundcovernews. com GROUNDCOVER NEWS 5

6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS LABOR AUGUST 21, 2026 Ann Arbor utility workers working without contract during highly strained negotiations Utility workers include water and wastewater operators, electrical lineworkers and maintenance workers. Over 300 Ann Arbor public service and water utility workers, represented by AFSCME Local 369, have been without a contract for eight months, since their previous agreement expired on December 31, 2025. Negotiations between the city and AFSCME Local 369 are ongoing but highly strained, with the union publicly accusing the city of failing to negotiate in good faith (reported by Mlive). Both sides have clashed openly regarding what constitutes fair pay and cost-of-living adjustments. Union members packed a City Council meeting July 20, 2026, to publicly demonstrate they have gone 29 months without a baseline pay raise amidst a rising cost of living. Workers argue that uncompetitive city wages are driving municipal employees out of residing in the very community they serve due to Ann Arbor's rising housing costs. City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr. countered that AFSCME workers received a $1,250 lump-sum payment in 2025. He noted this was negotiated because other city groups similarly MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 went a year without a cost-of-living adjustment during the pandemic. The city emphasizes that 84% of AFSCME workers remained eligible for tenure and performance-based step increases, meaning their actual takehome pay did increase even without a formal cost-of-living adjustment, reported the Michigan Daily. Water Treatment Plant Operator and current President of AFSCME Local 369 David Kastner stated, “The administration claims their market research shows that Ann Arbor pays competitively, but with all due respect that doesn't make any sense because Ypsilanti, Westland and Chelsea are offering starting pay 20-30% higher than ours. It's a tough pill AFSCME Real wage purchasing power over 20 years. Sourced from union local President David Kastner. to swallow that a third year hire in Chelsea currently makes more than a dedicated 22-year veteran.” Nicholas Nightwine, a city utility worker from the Water Resource Recovery Facility for 22 years, commented, “We are essential workers. The wildfires have been bad recently, I know there were warnings for people not to be outside, we can’t do that, our jobs are mostly outside. We do it, we do it proudly, and we do it with no complaints.” A city worker named Paul stated at the city council meeting, “I’m trying to stay in my home and the community where my family and kids grew up; this is important to me.” Closed negotiation sessions are coordinated directly between city administration and union representatives and are not listed publicly.

AUGUST 21, 2026 LABOR A ray of Ypsilanti sun-SHINE MARIE Groundcover contributor LAITR’s (Life After Incarceration: Transition & Reentry) SHINE (Supportive Hands In Neighborhood Enhancement) team receives high praise for its visible efforts to beautify the Ypsilanti community. LAITR was reportedly created in Washtenaw County in 2021 with the intent of studying the efficacy and feasibility of utilizing occupational therapy (OT) in a post-incarceration reentry program. According to a book called Exploring Health Care Careers Vol. 2 (2006), “An occupational therapist uses everyday activities to help clients learn or relearn the skills necessary to care for themselves and to live more satisfying lives … [helping people] address the psychological and social dimensions, as well as the physical … [helping them] develop skills necessary to care for a home and family, pursue an education, or maintain employment … through activities designed to exercise clients’ muscles and stimulate their minds.” SHINE evolved from a LAITR OT workgroup, to a mentorship program with a LAITR client and, according to their website, SHINE transitioned to a new separate non-profit called DM19 as of August of this year. The SHINE crew are the people in purple vests around the Ypsilanti area who may be seen shoveling snow or clearing trash from the streets and parks, visibly making a difference everyone can appreciate in the community. Among this crew are some very talented athletes, artists and scholars. All of them also would be wonderful candidates for a high quality OT approach to reducing recidivism risk. Several scholarly publications describe utilization of OT techniques with formerly incarcerated individuals as a relatively new area of research; however, the approach shows promise as it appears to complement and/or fill gaps seen in current mainstream approaches to working with formerly incarcerated people. According to "Exploring Health Care Careers Vol. 2," OT techniques often incorporate treatment strategies such as assistive technology, ergonomics, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, psychosocial development and role playing to improve daily functioning. On the surface, LAITR’s OT approach to a post-incarceration reentry program is grounded in solid theoretical and research-proven methods to reduce recidivism. The concept of adding or including OT services has the potential to address gaps in existing multidisciplinary approaches to working with people involved in the justice system, by complementing the work of social workers, judges, physicians, employers and case workers. Several participants have been involved with SHINE for about a year, and have transitioned from homelessness. Many participants also feel the work has made a positive impact on their lives. However, according to LAITR’s website, SHINE offers primarily short-term contracts for 90 days at a time, which some participants explained makes earning enough to promote stability challenging. Some SHINE participants are in Break time during a SHINE workday this winter. Photo submitted by Shihab Jackson. leadership positions. These positions report slightly higher hourly wages, and participants in leadership positions describe themselves as longterm employees. Both short-term and long-term employees complained the hourly income is not consistent week to week, nor is the pay in line with the local living wage. Some participants feel the income situation is stable; however others continue to report financial insecurity and typical postcarceral hardships. While all SHINE members interviewed gave positive feedback about their work, they didn’t feel LAITR’s services stand out beyond establishing SHINE. One participant explained LAITR didn’t really support a five to 10 year plan, or give specific supports for participants 65 and older. Therefore, the OT offered appears to have not have been made available at a level to truly help its participants reach their full individualized potential nor is OT expected to be a part of the SHINE experience in the near future. Regardless, during interviews this month for Groundcover News, local GROUNDCOVER NEWS 7 SHINE workers on the highway retrieving a tire that was discarded for safe disposal. Photo submitted by Shihab Jackson. leadership from the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority (YDDA), City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, praised and expressed very high satisfaction with the work of the SHINE team. All three offices also expressed the intention to continue contractual work with SHINE. According to Elize Jekabson, YDDA Executive Director: “The owner of Sweetwaters Ypsi, Paul, is a DDA Board Member and he had met Ariana (LAITR founder and president) and they talked about the SHINE team and what they were doing in the township. Paul thought it would be a great idea to bring it to the DDA. “We are now in our second year and there has been a lot of positive response. We’ve been able to grow the DDA program by adding a snow plowing pilot program and downtown dumpster enclosure maintenance to the contact. “We have had such good feedback on the program from business owners and residents. The SHINE team members love their jobs, and love working in their community. The SHINE team has made a huge impact for the DDA districts in Ypsilanti. We hope to see the SHINE team continue well into the future and become a model to communities across the state. “Our [annual] contract requires a set amount of hours to be split monthly between the Downtown District, the West Cross District, Riverside Park, and Frog Island Park. The SHINE team provides litter cleanup in all these areas. During winter months, they are contracted to keep the sidewalk ramps free of ice and slush because we always had a problem with those becoming inaccessible and dangerous. Also, in the winter months the team is contracted to run a sidewalk snow blowing pilot program in the Downtown District, plows graciously donated to us by Puffer Reds. This program ensures that Downtown remains safe and accessible even after storms.” According to a recent interview with City Manager Andrew Hellenga, Ypsilanti “has contracted with SHINE for three clean-ups: Water Works Park to Water Street, Railroad to Forest Bridge Dam Rd. and Bell-Kramer … When I heard about SHINE I thought it was a fantastic program. A chance for individuals [with a history of homelessness and incarceration] to get back on their feet. If you give people a chance they usually surprise you.The intent is to help with housing, and meaningful work experience to graduate to another job … DPW has hired felons … We are considering future contracts with SHINE.” According to Laurie Lutomski, Community Resource Coordinator with Ypsilanti Township, they have a twoyear contract with SHINE, which runs from 2024-2026, and they are expecting a contract renewal proposal in the near future. “We aren’t their employer; we contract with them like waste or lawn mowing. We want to know how much does it cost and what is happening. We expect the SHINE team to continue. They have adapted a model which includes reacclimating after incarceration and, since there is a need for services, we thought it was a great fit. “Since its inception two years ago they have expanded from five to 10 sites. The number of sites has expanded, but not the number of hours. But now that the areas are clean, it’s not as hard to maintain. Residents absolutely love it and think it’s absolutely fabulous. People on the crew get stopped and people give them positive feedback about what a great job they do. “They also got a grant in 2025 and they put in a pollinator garden this see SHINE page 13 

8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS HOUSING After housing DAVID CRANE Groundcover contributor I moved into my apartment on December 8th. At the time, I thought getting housed would solve a lot of problems. It did solve some. Having a door that locks, a bed that is mine, and somewhere to keep my things changes the math of everyday life. But housing isn't the finish line. It is the starting line. The Housing First model gets criticized because putting a roof over someone's head doesn't automatically change what happens inside them. I understand that. An apartment doesn't create motivation. A lease doesn't teach somebody how to rebuild their life. But I think there is something important that gets missed. While internal motivation is necessary, external stability makes motivation sustainable. It is hard to build a future when you're spending all your energy preparing for disaster. When everything is temporary, your priorities become temporary too. You learn to react, improvise and keep your options open because you never know what is going to disappear next. Housing gave me the opportunity to stop doing that. Then I had to figure out what to do with the opportunity. For months after moving in, I was broke. I didn't have a smartphone. That sounds like a minor inconvenience until you try to navigate modern life without one. I always had a laptop, though. So I was finding Wi-Fi, busting out my laptop, looking up bus schedules, figuring out routes and making appointments. I was basically playing on All-Madden mode with half a controller and refusing to quit the season. I made it happen. I made appointments. I applied for jobs. I used community resources. I kept moving. Eventually, I got hired. But getting hired wasn't really the point. The point was proving to myself that I could be reliable and dependable again. I had to learn how to work again. That sounds strange when you've spent most of your adult life working, but rebuilding your life changes your relationship with work. I wasn't just looking for a paycheck. I was figuring out how I fit into a structured life again. How to show up on time. Take direction. Be accountable. Have a bad day without turning it into a bad week. That's where housing matters. It gave me enough stability to actually practice those things. I eventually left one job because I realized it wasn't where I needed to be. In the past, quitting a job would have meant disaster. This time, it became a decision. I had enough stability underneath me to take a risk and look for something that fit better. That distinction matters. I am learning to make decisions based on where I'm going instead of what I'm trying to escape. For a long time, I was preparing for disaster. The next bad thing. The next loss. The next emergency. The next time everything fell apart. Lately, I'm preparing for a future. I don't know exactly what that future looks like. I don't have a perfect fiveyear plan. But I am starting to act like there will actually be a next year. That's new. Stability is growing on me. In fact, lately I've been feeling almost insouciant. It's a word I wouldn't have used to describe myself for most of my life. It means being unconcerned, carefree, almost casually confident about things that might have once consumed you. I've been surprisingly chill lately. A little happy-go-lucky. And honestly, it's weird. Not a bad weird. Just unfamiliar. Because that kind of lightness would have been completely inconsistent with the person I used to be. I spent a lot of years anticipating the worst. I was good at it. I knew how to prepare for things going wrong. Now I'm learning what it feels like not to. I still have problems. I still have things I need to repair. But I am not living every day like the shit is about to hit the fan. I'm preparing for what happens if it doesn't. That's what I think Housing First can accomplish when it works the way it is supposed to. Section 8 project-based waitlist opening PUBLIC NOTICE Parkway Meadows is opening the waiting list for the 1-Bedroom Elderly apartments only for five days. The HUD definition for Elderly is 62 and older or non-elderly disabled individuals. The waitlist is for Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance. This housing opportunity is open to all qualified individuals. Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request. Any application received that does not meet the criteria will not be placed on the waiting list and a letter of rejection will be sent to the household. The waitlist will OPEN on August 31 at 10 a.m. and CLOSE on September 4 at 4 p.m. Eligibility is limited to applicants for 1-Bedroom Senior Apartments (62 years and older) and Non- Elderly Disabled Individuals. Applicants must meet income and other eligibility requirements including LIHTC and Section 8 criteria. Income limits for one person is $58,100; for two persons $66,400.00 (combined) Applications will be available starting July 31. Interested households may obtain applications in person at the community, via email, mail, or fax during business hours. Parkway Meadows is not responsible for mail, email or fax delivery issues. To request an application or for assistance, contact Parkway Meadows at (734) 662-5055, TDD 771, fax (734) 662.7872 or email parkway@kmgprestige.com. Completed applications must be accurately filled out, signed, and submitted to Parkway Meadows Apartments between August 31 at 10 a.m. and September 4 at 4 p.m. Submit applications to Parkway Meadows Apartments, 2575 Sandalwood Circle, Ann Arbor MI 48105, in person, via fax 734.662.7872 or email parkway@kmgprestige.com. Parkway Meadows is not responsible for mail, email or fax delivery issues. All applications received during the open period will be date and time stamped and entered in a supervised lottery. The waitlist is not based on first-come, first-served. The lottery will be conducted within one week after the closing date to determine the order in which the applicants will be called once an apartment becomes available. Applications submitted outside the open period, incomplete, unsigned, altered from original format, multiple applications by the same individual(s) or not meeting eligibility requirements cannot not be accepted or if accepted and not qualified a rejection letter will be issued. It doesn't fix people. It doesn't eliminate addiction, trauma, poverty, loneliness, or the consequences of the past. It gives people somewhere stable enough to confront those things without simultaneously fighting for survival. The rest is still up to us. I had to find the motivation to change. But housing gave that motivation somewhere to land. The apartment isn't the achievement. It's the platform. From there, you can make mistakes without losing everything. You can try again. You can rebuild relationships. You can learn how to work again. You can start imagining a future that isn't just another word for disaster. I'm still figuring out what comes next. Maybe that's the insouciance. Maybe after spending enough years preparing for everything to fall apart, there is something almost rebellious about becoming comfortable with the possibility that things might actually be okay. I'm not preparing for disaster anymore. I'm preparing for a future. And lately, I'm doing it with a little less fear and a lot more chill. AUGUST 21, 2026

AUGUST 21, 2026 HOMELESSNESS In the shadow of the ring JEFFREY GROUWSTRA and ANKE VAN DER MEER Z! Z! is a street paper located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Along the Amsterdam motorway, named Ring A10, lies a small tent camp, hidden from view. It is a Polish enclave, with "Polska" painted in pink on a tree. It's five o'clock on a sunny Monday afternoon, close to the river IJ. Behind the noise barrier, traffic pours out of the tunnel. The roar of the motorway contrasts with the greenery on the other side of the glass barrier, where rabbits dart off into tall grass and birds sing in trees. Between the leaves, the faint outlines of tents are visible. Less than a year ago, tenting in a place like this would almost certainly have meant a fine for the inhabitants. Between 2020 and 2025, the city of Amsterdam issued 381 fines to people sleeping rough. That ended in the summer of 2025. The city argues that fines do not solve homelessness but instead push people further into hardship. Other large Dutch cities like The Hague and Rotterdam still fine outdoor sleeping, though the policy is under debate there as well. A mobile outreach team from a local homelessness support organisation regularly visits camps like this. Along the ring road, behind the noise barriers, they regularly spot tents. According to one outreach worker, it is usually Eastern European labor migrants staying there. However, the fact that the police no longer issue fines does not mean the uncertainty has gone away. Eviction remains a constant risk, and in those cases, people often lose personal belongings, which can be devastating if documents like passports go missing. Outreach workers actively seek out rough sleepers to see whether they need help, sometimes bringing in a street doctor or a social worker. It is a kind of "guided street life," they call it. Then Marius, originally from Poland, pulls up on a mountain bike. "Follow me," he says, gesturing towards a narrow path into the woods. A laminated sign reading "entrance" hangs from a tree near one of the tents. Benedict has just crawled out of a small dome tent. Between the two larger tents, a tarp forms a makeshift living room, furnished with a few chairs and the familiar square IKEA side tables, crowded with ashtrays and coffee cups. "Four of us live here," Marius says. He is from Warsaw and spent the last 12 years in Paris. His English is filled with French words. "Life there was hard. I lived on the street a lot and did some time in prison too." He has been in Amsterdam for three months now, earning money by collecting cans and bottles for the deposit refund. The setup of the camp says a lot about how life here works. Laundry hangs between the trees, next to a towel slung over the handle of a hatchet. Firewood and tools are tucked among the trunks and bushes. An old metal safe doubles as a stool beside a camping table set with pots and cutlery. A shower tent stands a little further along. Almost everything at this improvised camp beside the motorway Ring A10 has been pulled from the trash and given a second life. Inside his tent, Marius sits on a mattress with crisp white sheets. He checks his phone, rummages through some belongings and reappears moments later with a stack of power banks. He is nearly out of phone credit, but keeping the phone charged matters more. "We are allowed to charge our phones at nearby businesses," he says. "People here in Amsterdam are a lot friendlier than in Paris." Marius has traded his shoes for house slippers. Benedict, also in slippers, offers him a pack of Texas Red House cigarillos. "Cheaper than regular cigarettes," GROUNDCOVER NEWS 9 he explains. The men say that the police mostly leave them alone, even though they keep an eye on the camp. "We had a kitchen fire not long ago, when we were barbecuing," Benedict says, pointing to a scorched patch of ground between the trees. “The police came by and warned us it could not happen again." The outreach worker adds: "It also happens that people try to keep warm with a small fire, and sometimes that goes wrong." In other words, sleeping outside is not without risks. As darkness falls, the camp's other residents drift back, one by one disappearing into their tents. The forest goes quiet, while behind the noise barrier, the traffic keeps moving. Courtesy of Z! / INSP.ngo Photos by Jeffrey Grouwstra and Anke van der Meer.

10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION AUGUST 21, 2026 When Grandma's house isn't really anyone's house: what Washtenaw County can learn from Detroit COLLEEN SADOWS Groundcover contributor A community proposal out of Wayne State's School of Social Work offers a mutual aid model for "heirs' property," which happens when someone dies without a will specifying who actually owns a piece of property. The proposal has lessons for Washtenaw County's aging homeowners and housing advocates. If you've never heard the term "heirs' property," you're not alone — but you've probably driven past a house that has it. It happens when someone dies without a will, or without updating one, and a home passes informally to descendants without any legal paperwork sorting out who actually owns it. No single heir holds a clear title. Instead, the family is left with what's called a "tangled title" — and with it, a cascade of problems: no eligibility for home repair loans, no ability to sell or refinance, vulnerability to tax foreclosure, and an open door for predatory investors or deed fraud. The proposal, "Project Heirs' Property Reclaimed," lays out a community-based mutual aid model to address this problem among Black elders in Detroit. While the pilot is designed for Detroit, the underlying problem and the solution travel well beyond Wayne County. Washtenaw County has its own aging housing stock, its own history of racially exclusionary lending, and its own elders quietly sitting on tangled titles they may not even know they have. For local housing advocates, legal aid groups and elder-services agencies, this proposal is worth a close read. Scale of the problem The proposal cites 2024 Detroit Future City (Keeping Your Family Home: Addressing the Challenges of Inherited Properties in Detroit), an analysis finding more than 5,500 Detroit properties where every recorded owner had died between 2014 and 2022, all of which were confirmed heirs' properties. These properties often end up tangled in legal limbo, leaving families vulnerable to losing their homes and becoming displaced; underscoring the urgency of reaching people with interventions like this one before that happens. The pattern reflects systemic, oppressive practices that have displaced people for generations. We need to reach people with this proposed intervention before they lose their homes. This is shining a light on systemic, oppressive practices that have intentionally displaced people for generations. That's just one city. Heirs' property is recognized nationally as a major driver of Black land and wealth loss, rooted in a long history of exclusion from formal legal and estate-planning systems. Legal scholar Brenda Gibson calls it not just a legal problem, but a racial wealth problem — land that should be building generational stability instead sits frozen in legal limbo, unable to be borrowed against, repaired or passed on cleanly to the next generation. For elders in particular, the stakes are high. Heirs' property complications often surface right when a family most needs stability, after a death, during a health crisis or when a home repair becomes urgent. Losing clear ownership can mean losing eligibility for home repair grants, losing the ability to age in place, and in the worst cases, losing the home altogether to tax foreclosure or a lowball buyout from a speculator. What the model proposes Rather than treating this purely as a legal problem to be solved case-bycase by lawyers only, the Wayne State proposal builds something closer to a peer support and case management network. This is grounded in what social workers call empowerment theory, which centers the idea that people experiencing a systemic problem know their own situation best, and that lasting change comes from building their power and knowledge rather than simply "fixing" things on their behalf. This model has a few pieces that could translate directly to Washtenaw County: A "concierge" connector between elders and pro bono attorneys. Rather than expecting people to find and vet a lawyer on their own, a trusted community organization does that matching, plus tracks each case over time so nothing falls through the cracks. Meetings where people already gather. The proposal recommends holding legal clinics and "will clinics" not in law offices, but at libraries, community colleges, faith congregations, senior programs, barbershops, beauty salons and community innovation hubs. In Detroit, that includes places like the Durfee Innovation Society. For Washtenaw County, that could mean senior centers, the district library branches, or partnerships with congregations. Small mutual aid groups, not oneoff workshops. Over a 90-day cycle, groups of 5-10 elders meet biweekly, alternating between peer support sessions and one-on-one legal or case management meetings. The idea is that isolation is itself a barrier: when people realize their neighbor is dealing with the same "tangled title" problem, shame and secrecy give way to shared problem-solving. A trauma-informed, non-judgmental approach to family conflict. Heirs' property disputes often surface old family wounds (who cared for a parent, who paid the bills, who was absent). The proposal explicitly plans for "monopolizer," "quiet member," and family-conflict dynamics, and builds in referrals to mediation and family therapy rather than assuming the legal solution is the only fix needed. Attention to trust and history, not just paperwork. The proposal repeatedly returns to the fact that Black elders have well-earned reasons to distrust systems that have historically taken advantage of them, through redlining, discriminatory lending and predatory land practices. Any intervention has to build trust before it asks people to disclose vulnerable legal or financial information, and confidentiality has to remain firmly in participants' own hands. Washtenaw County doesn't have Detroit's scale of heirs' property, but it has its own version of the underlying problem: aging homeowners, family homes passed down informally, and a widening gap between people who can afford estate planning and people who can't. Local organizations that work with elders — from Meals on Wheels-type senior services to housing counseling agencies and legal aid — may be encountering "tangled titles" in their casework without a formal name or referral pathway for it. Recommendations for local agencies and advocates S-creening for heirs' property could be built into existing senior services. Housing counselors, home repair grant programs, and Meals on Wheelsstyle check-in visits are all points of contact where a tangled title might surface — but only if staff know to ask. Pro bono legal partnerships are replicable. Washtenaw County already has legal aid infrastructure and law school partnerships (University of Michigan, plus Wayne State's reach Detroit Future City 2024 report can be read at detroitfuturecity. com/resources/research/ into the region) that could support a rotating pro bono attorney model similar to the one proposed here. Community-based, not officebased, service delivery matters. Meeting people in libraries, churches and community centers, rather than requiring them to seek out a legal office, removes a major access barrier, especially for elders with transportation or mobility limitations. Peer support reduces shame and secrecy. Isolation compounds legal problems. A model that connects elders facing similar issues, even informally, can surface problems earlier — before a tax foreclosure notice arrives. The bigger picture The proposal frames heirs' property as more than an individual legal snag; it's a social determinant of health. Chronic stress from housing insecurity, fear of losing a family home and the strain of unresolved family conflict all take a toll on elders' well-being. Addressing the legal tangle isn't just about protecting a deed; it's about protecting the stability, dignity and health of the people who live in that home. As heirs' property gains more attention statewide, through reforms like the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act and USDA re-lending programs, models like this one suggest that legal reform alone isn't enough. It takes community infrastructure: trusted messengers, culturally responsive facilitation, and a willingness to treat land, housing and family relationships as one connected ecosystem, not separate problems to be solved in isolation. For Washtenaw County's network of elder services, housing advocates and legal aid organizations, this Detroitborn model offers a blueprint worth studying — and maybe worth adapting, one community meeting at a time. The full "Project Heirs' Property Reclaimed" proposal was developed by an MSW student as a collaborative coursework project at Wayne State University's School of Social Work.

AUGUST 21, 2026 OPINION MLive: promoting billionaire interests and disparaging homeless people JAY COOPER Groundcover contributor AI company mlive.com won't tell you how toxic data centers are going to bankrupt you and poison your water, but it will call homeless people aggressive and disruptive four times in a week. The only mention of landlords in MLive's "series on panhandling in Ann Arbor, exploring both the bigger picture issues of homelessness downtown and the concerns of residents, businesses and panhandlers themselves" was in the article titled “At least every block: Ann Arbor grapples with rising, aggressive panhandling." The article uncritically relays the delusional opinion of landlord Ed "Mr. Downtown" Shaffran that "Ann Arbor’s homeless problems are a product of state and national issues that need higher-level solutions." This unsubstantiated and absurd statement is what I would expect to hear from a landlord, because any factual interrogation into why people are homeless points directly at landlords. MLive printed this perspective without question, without any journalistic rigor whatsoever. While allowing Mr. Downtown-Shaffran to redirect the conversation toward mental health — the most common blame-target for why homelessness exists, even though mental health isn't evicting people, landlords and cops are — MLive does print factual quotes from the mouth of the landlord: “‘Those people need a place, because all we did is put them on the street,’ he said. ‘And in many respects, we created the problem.’” In every respect, Mr. Downtown-Shaffran, landlords created and continue to create this problem. Closing mental hospitals in the 90s did not put hundreds more on the streets of Washtenaw County this year, landlords did. Closing mental hospitals in the 90s did not ratchet up everyone's rent while wages stayed stagnant, landlords did. Closing mental hospitals in the 90s did not kick people out of their homes to renovate units and convert the complex to Airbnbs, landlords did. This garbage writing is only the tip of the iceberg at mlive.com. I struggle to summarize how shitty the writing is, how perverse the perspective is, how harmful the framings are, because there and partly because it produces hallucinated garbage that rarely stands up to even basic fact-checking. So, when friends of mine were talking about the unusual number of anti-panhandling articles MLive was publishing, I was shocked to see the only search function on the website was AI-powered. Turns out mlive.com is an AI company. While looking at the authors of hateful articles about homeless people on mlive.com, one author was not like the others: "Advance Local Express Desk." Was this some kind of Associated Press style pool of shared articles, or a collaborative team? No. "The Advance Local Express Desk uses AI tools to assist in producing content, which is reviewed and edited by staff. Advance Local is the parent company of AL.com, Cleveland.com, lehighvalleylive.com, MassLive.com, MLive.com, NJ.com, OregonLive. com, PennLive.com, SILive.com and Syracuse.com.” So not only is MLive one small arm of a massive publishing company distributing AI garbage, it's owned by the billionaire Newhouse family under their "Advance Publications" umbrella. S.I. Newhouse IV described his family's wealth in the 2003 documentary "Born Rich.” "It would be a low estimate, a very low estimate for me to say 20 billion, but I can't, and I can't get too exact with it but, in attainable assets, that's what, that's the range our family's in." Advance.com lists the highlights of the Newhouse family's publishing monster: "Advance’s portfolio of exceptional Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, companies The includes IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and POP. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Reddit and Warner Bros. Discovery." The Newhouse family owns innumerable crimes within Advance Publications: Condé Nast's white supremacist business practices are well-documented. Turnitin's notoriously flawed plagiarism detection service, which it charges universities millions for, now offers the option (for millions more) to do AI detection. Advance Publications is inventing are too many examples. I don't generally use AI. Partly because it's burning down the planet, the disease and selling the cure. What is the point in detecting AI written papers by students, when massive publishing demons are ensuring writing jobs are being annihilated and replaced with jobs reviewing and editing AI generated slop? For those who have always lived under Comcast's (aka Xfinity's) localized monopoly, Charter (aka Spectrum) is a very similar grotesque, sitting on public communications infrastructure and charging rent for access to it. They got caught by a jury in Texas forging documents to avoid paying damages to the family of a woman killed by a tech they sent to her home while they knew he was mentally unravelling. When I looked at the environmental news section of mlive.com I was not shocked to see very little mention of data centers, the most pressing local environmental issue. The one article that mentioned data centers in a heap of mind-numbingly impactless articles was an article by Danielle James, titled "Data center protesters disrupt Trump at Michigan speech." The article opens with a gallery sporting five nearly identical pictures of the protesters in the moment they had before they were removed by police, interspersed with seven pictures of Trump in various states of smug shit-eating grin and that face babies make when they're pooping their diapers standing up. The article does not address the documented toxicity of data centers, or the math that proves there's no way to build one without raising energy prices on people already struggling. It portrays people fighting like hell, risking arrest to stop the destruction of our local environment in the softest possible terms. "Residents across Michigan have pushed back on data center proposals in recent months, raising concerns about water and electricity demands and noise pollution ... but the projects continue to spark local resistance across the state, with residents concerned about water and electricity consumption, noise pollution, reduction in property values, and in some cases the loss of their community's rural character." This is a total mischaracterization of the material harms feared. They highlight noise pollution rather than toxic waste dumps because it makes protesters seem like ridiculous, frivolous crybabies, when that's low on the list of very real damage to local people's health that data centers consistently create. The article did take the time to repeat lies about jobs and tax revenue that unnamed "proponents" are telling, and Trump’s excuses for data centers, including the non-existent AI competition with China. For those out of the loop, let me catch you up on this "US-China AI War:" Companies in the US/NATO empire are burning the world down building data centers to make nearly useless chatbots so Nvidia can pretend there's demand for their absurdly expensive bloodsoaked processors; and Chinese researchers are periodically and with little expense examining the stupid chatbots U.S. companies say will rule the world, writing better ones, and releasing the source code to show the world how stupid said chatbots really are. Not even Fortune magazine pretends China and the United States are in competition on AI. In the June 16 Fortune article "China isn’t trying to beat the U.S. at AI — it’s playing a completely different game," Noel Ngai and Nick Leung cited Jensen Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia, who admits restricting chip sales to China would only accelerate China's AI lead, because China does not need Nvidia chips, because there is no actual demand for Nvidia chips: they are radiators heating pointless data centers crunching meaningless numbers. The Danielle James' MLive article also uncritically prints the lies about jobs and tax revenue unnamed "proponents" are telling. This is not a local paper. These are not the thoughts of local people. Mlive is eight local tentacles of the billionaire publishing machine. MLive Media Group owns eight local Michigan papers: The Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, The Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Muskegon Chronicle and Saginaw News. Protesters holding up signs and chanting before being removed by police is not news, it is happening every day across this country. I was able to find with mlive.com's AI-powered "Smart Search" (mlive.com's only search function) that they actually wrote two articles about the same non-story. Mike Jay's article embedded a video of the entire non-story, which you can watch play out in 77 seconds. MLive writer Jennifer Eberbach has done damage control around Saline allowing a data center to dump 15,750 gallons of wastewater into the Saline River daily, citing how many jobs it will supposedly create; and a wordy piece about hundreds in Augusta Township that signed a petition to remove their elected leaders over see MLIVE page 13  GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11

12 GROUNDCOVER NEWS BACK TO SCHOOL State of the [Michigan] Union Twenty-five years removed from my last class as a student in the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Michigan, I find myself yet again a resident of the great city of Ann Arbor. This time as writer for Groundcover News. Much like every other entitled U-M alumnus I have strong opinions about the overall state of The University of Michigan in particular, as well as the city of Ann Arbor as a whole. Having been back in the city for near to a year now, after a 22-year hiatus, I’ve had limited interactions with the current study body outside of peripheral interactions with student-athletes and their families in the course of my chronicling the tradition of continued excellence in sports. #NattyU Unlike other news sources, here at Groundcover we prefer to lead with good news. Two National Championships in the last three calendar years — in the two most popular, mostviewed sports in American leisure/ entertainment culture (basketball and football), no less — has cemented U-M as Kings of Sport throughout the entire landscape of college athletics. Psych Warde “With great power comes great responsibility”— Spider-Man On the heels of unprecedented success in collegiate athletics has come significant scandal and controversy, turmoil and turnover, with each and every triumph on the student-athlete battlefield. Fortunately, none of the aforementioned drama was derived from the exemplary student-athletes who flock to Ann Arbor’s campus halls every semester. On the contrary, it’s the adults in the room who have shown epic fails in conduct over the last four years, beginning with Michigan Football’s return to relevance alongside Jim Harbaugh realizing his potency as a Head Coach to the tune of a Big 10 Championship during the 2021-2022 season. Some of the lowlights to follow would be: 1) Coach Harbaugh receiving a notice of allegations from the NCAA suggesting recruiting violations during the COVID pandemic recruiting off period. It may very well be the case that he got in trouble for buying a prospective recruit a hamburger, but that’s neither here nor there. 2) Offensive Coordinator Matt Weiss allegedly hacking computers to steal private videos and photos from thousands of college girls across the country. 3) Connor Stallions forming a sophisticated football espionage KAHLIL MUHAMMAD Groundcover vendor No. 691 network to decipher play-call signals, and using prohibited recording to advance scout the offenses of opposing teams. 4) Sherrone Moore "knocking up the nanny." Not quite, but it sounds a little accurate than, “an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.” Even a return to form as the Leaders And Best by winning its first National Championship in basketball in nearly 40 years wasn’t enough to circumvent the ghost of controversy past from rearing its ugly head into the winners circle. After saying all the right things and recruiting another powerhouse team, Coach Dusty May dipped out on us and agreed to replace Jason Kidd as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. This may have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back as calls to rid the university of Athletic Director Warde Manuel grew to a fevered pitch. The timing of Coach May’s departure was only a matter of days before the latest investigation (labeled a "culture review") into Michigan’s Athletic Department came to a close. Almost certainly there is a direct correlation to the inability to retain championship coaches (in confluence with all the cultural turbulence in general) and the University’s decision not to retain Warde Manuel as Athletic Director moving forward. The review found that while systemic misconduct was not pervasive, there were profound weaknesses in structural organization that led to oversight and accountability gaps, as well as predictable leadership lapses. The first reporting of the review stated that AD Warde Manuel had agreed to resign at the end of this calendar year 2026. In the days to follow we were informed that he agreed to a $7 million buyout of a contract that was supposed to be in effect until June of 2030. One student-athlete, a member of the gymnastics team, whom I’ll refer to as Mary Lou, is relieved for the ‘Psych Warde’ era to be over. In her words: “This is long overdue. It’s been so hard for me as an athlete struggling with mental health. I know that they never really had to deal with this before. But, the way that they did deal with it, it was like they were looking for a quick fix, instead of taking the time to try to understand. It’s like when I did have a panic attack, or maybe was manic, my sports psychologist would just paint me as some crazy, emotional girl. Hopefully we’ll get someone in there that understands that mental health is as important as physical health for us athletes.” Changing of the guard Despite my expressed intent to realthere are significant istically capture the State of the Michigan Union, reasons to maintain an optimistic disposition towards the U-M Athletic Department at present: 1. The football program is in great hands considering the hire of super-Mormon Latter Day Saint Utah football coaching legend Kyle Whittingham. He has a 40 year track record of being an undeniably good and genuine man who prioritizes Faith, Family, and then Football. No scandal, no controversy, he aims to get the athletes under his stewardship at least an undergraduate degree, and an opportunity to win a conference championship. 2. The basketball program for men and women at U-M is still in a glorious place despite Coach May activating all of our abandonment issues. The Wolverine Women made the Elite 8 this past season, and the Michigan Men obviously went the distance to win the whole shebang. Plus, Michigan was able to look internally and promote last year’s defensive coordinator, Mike Boynton, for the men’s basketball team. His ability to retain all but one player on the roster added optimism for the team making yet another deep run as we lean on reliable cliches such as, “defense wins championships.” Ann Arbor At present, Ann Arbor is the most educated city in the United States for the seventh year in a row. The city ranked #1 in educational attainment and #2 in its quality of education and attainment gap — only a 1.8% gap between women and men who have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Meanwhile, a staggering 96% of adults aged 25 and older in the area have at minimum a high school diploma. As a city we boast the highest percent of adults with an associates degree and/or college experience, with nearly 60% of Ann Arbor residents holding a Bachelor's degree, and nearly one-third having an advanced degree (i.e. Masters or Ph.D). The quality of universities here were ranked inside the top 10, and, according to a recent study by WalletHub, A2 claimed the #1 spot for best public school system in the country. In other words, U-M is the best university in the universe, and it’s not even close. It is an unfortunate aspect of civic living that, at times, power corrupts those who are prone to corruption. With the U-M living up to its lyrical reputation as "leaders and best" in sport, while enmeshed in a city leading the way in education, the spotlight will always shine a little brighter on U-M. As such, perceived and actual deficiencies in the functioning of our educational organism will be noticed (and rooted out) more frequently than other learning institutions. There is a long list of notable alumni that will be approached in the days to come to lead the most visible portion of student life here at U-M — the Athletic Department. Depending on that hire, I could anticipate the State of the Michigan Union as more learned, proficient, supported, heard, victorious — and in the near future, productive — than ever before. AUGUST 21, 2026

AUGUST 21, 2026 BACK TO SCHOOL Understanding Michigan Online SOPHIA YEE U-M student contributor In today’s rapidly changing job market, continuing to learn new skills has become more important than ever. But traditional education is often too expensive, time consuming and inflexible. In response to this challenge, Michigan Online has partnered with Coursera to offer a resource that many students, faculty and staff may be unfamiliar with. Michigan Online is a way to access Coursera’s catalog of 4,000+ guided projects and courses, and even obtain Professional Certificates. Michigan Online provides an accessible way to learn through thousands of hours of free educational content. This material is available to help extend existing knowledge or explore entirely unfamiliar subject areas. With access to courses ranging from "Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision Making" to "Rocket Science in Everyday Life," there is always something new to discover. Beyond courses, Michigan Online offers collections, series and teach-outs, each having a different focus and expected time of completion. Scrolling through available programs on Michigan Online allows a glimpse into the countless hours of content available through this website. To access a lecture series, simply go to online.umich.edu, click the title of the series or course of interest, and select the “free access button” to log into Coursera with a university account. While more learning opportunities are available to complete free of charge for University of Michigan students, faculty and staff, most courses are available to audit for free to the general public. While auditing a course does not provide graded feedback or official credentials, it is still a great way to acquire new skills from these classes without having to pay to learn. Coursera offers financial aid for many programs to support the journey of those who do not have the financial means to enroll at this time. To apply for financial aid, select the program of interest on coursera.org, and there will be a link to apply on the description page. Coursera typically responds to financial aid applications within 16 days, making it a relatively quick process for those in need. Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, originated in 2008 to help remove geographical and financial barriers to education by enabling all people to access content and complete the material at their own pace. Learners can take weeks or even months to finish these courses, creating a meaningful, low-pressure environment. The flexibility offered by MOOCs accommodates working students, parents and those with irregular schedules. Although they are not replacements for degree programs, they are helpful supplements that enable learners to build skills, supplement other coursework, and explore potential career paths. For U-M students specifically, these courses offer ways to test out potential majors before committing, or build valuable skills for competitive internship applications. The existence of Massive Open Online Courses like Michigan Online and Coursera highlights a shift in how we think about education today. With these resources, learning is no longer limited by geography or income. Community members can access the same Coursera platform, audit courses for free, and apply for financial aid if needed. For people ready to invest in themselves, the opportunity awaits! Get started at online.umich.edu. GROUNDCOVER NEWS 13  SHINE from page 7 year. They approached us with the idea in 2025 and the garden went in this spring in front of the township building. It’s hard to see because it’s in its infancy, but it’s there.” In the eyes of this social work professional, the concept of adding OT to a re-entry program and/or to reduce recidivism has considerable merit. SHINE evolved from a program aimed at reducing recidivism by increasing financial stability, networking, improving self-esteem, improving daily function, addressing health disparities and increasing a person’s support  MLIVE from page 11 their attempts to rezone 500 acres near Milan for a toxic data center. But these pieces were in the Ann Arbor section rather than the Environment section. To MLive, data centers are not newsworthy due to the well-documented ecological destruction they bring, or the financial disaster they mean for locals, but as a quirk of local politics that the little people in little places outside Ann Arbor are "raising concerns" about. MLive is a billionaire in a U-M hat, pretending to be local saying "Hey, aren't these homeless people really aggressive and disruptive?" while network. One OT student recently presented the idea of using OT with survivors of human trafficking and those experiencing post-partum depression. However, LAITR’s OT business model lacks the appropriate coordinated level of professional services the formerly incarcerated population deserves, and the readily available data for LAITR’s OT pilot study is suggestive of questionable ethics. At this time, according to LAITR’s website, they are not funded for future OT services through the corrections system. However, its website also states, “As of August 2026, we have actively running cover for his billionaire landlord buddies, his own toxic AI data center interests, parasitic energy rentseeker DTE, and the politicians that rubber-stamp their putrid agendas. Data centers are a class interest barometer. Nobody local wants toxic waste dumped in their rivers, while the few with wealth and power that don't live here want to dump toxic waste in your rivers for profit. Y'know what's disruptive and aggressive? The creators of homelessness: landlords, police, politicians; also data centers poisoning the water supply, and billionaires poisoning the news. transitioned SHINE to our team lead’s nonprofit, DM19 Collaborative Reentry Services (DM19). Leroy Harris has worked with SHINE since SHINE’s first day. He then was promoted to team lead and supervised the work crew as they performed their work throughout Ypsilanti. Through his hard work, he has grown into the role as Executive Director at DM19 and will continue to lead SHINE under his nonprofit.” According to Ypsilanti community leadership interviews and documents, contracts are in place through 2026, and are expected to continue into 2027. While the SHINE team is proud of the work they do to improve their community, and residents feel prouder of their surroundings because of the work the SHINE team does, one former SHINE team member described LAITR’s program as “not better executed than other similar student-led research type projects and non-profits.” The formerly incarcerated deserve a shift from “if” interventions may work, to a higher standard of services rendered, which include intentional longevity, culturally appropriate supports, sustainability, consistency and transparency.

14 GROUNDCOVER NEWS PUZZLES WHO's AFRAID ... ? Tracy Bennett and Victor Flemming AUGUST 21, 2026 ACROSS 1. City west of Tulsa 5. Surrounded by 11. HOMES Brewery draught 14. Days ___ by 15. "Do not act up!" 16. Metaphor for an abundance of hair 17. Start of an 1897 editorial about Santa Claus, and a hint to this puzzle's theme 19. "___ Time" (2011 Imagine Dragons song) 20. Film on antique bronze 21. "Golly!" 22. Able to see right through 23. Ferry Field oval (where Jesse Owens set multiple world records) 24. Traditional sweeper that doubles as transport for some powerful women 26. "Commander in Chief" star Davis 28. Male red deer 29. Alpine evergreen 31. Metaphor for an absence of hair 33. Some baking potatoes 37. The "A" in UAE 39. Pastiche 41. Genesis guy who floated his stock while all around him were in liquidation 42. Puzzle 44. ___ up (agitate) 46. "Mele Kalikimaka" instrument, briefly 47. Fly's denial 49. Clicked-on pictures 51. Haunting Maggie Smith poem about realty and reality 55. Afrikaners 58. Uber competitor 59. "SNL" network 60. "Yippee!" 61. Egg cells 62. Punny way to read the 1929 feminist essay whose title appears in this puzzle's circled letters 64. ___ the question 65. One end of a Biblical exodus 66. Hidden valley 67. Word with third or opener 68. Pitched a shelter for the night while backpacking 69. Circular air current DOWN 1. One end of a Biblical exodus 2. Musical insensitivity, metaphorically 3. Popular photo-sharing app 4. Contrivance 5. Incantation opener 6. She said "yes!" repeatedly in "When Harry Met Sally" 7. Montoya in "The Princess Bride" 8. Eateries 9. Like knowledge based on observation, measurement and experiment 10. Afternoon affair 11. ___ acid 12. "Quick pick" game 13. Salts type 18. Signed, as a contract 22. Restored instrument still played at some Michigan Theater screenings 24. Sleepover spot for backpackers 25. Modern admission, after "my" 27. In direct confrontation 29. Cheer alternative 30. Fury 32. Daybreak deity 34. Group residing under one roof 35. Exemplar of strength 36. Sea shell seller 38. Cake-pan type 40. Redding known as "The King of Soul" 43. Loudly weep 45. "Bicentennial Man" hero 48. Hardwired 50. Persistent pest 51. Boston newspaper 52. Stereotypical kvetcher's cry 53. Old enough 54. Brilliant display 56. Headed to shore, in a way 57. Tenor sax jazz great Rollins 60. Cheryl Strayed memoir that became a 2014 Reese Witherspoon film 62. Clever one 63. Sum charged PUZZLE SOLUTIONS August 7, 2026 edition Originally published in the September 2021 edition of Groundcover News.

AUGUST 21, 2026 POETRY Maktub You should have exactly what you need. No more, no less. If you have more, seeking even more will pull you away from social balance. If you have less, and lose even that, everything may fall apart. So, if you have more, give. If you have less, take. Do not beg, and do not steal. Simply take what is rightfully yours. I do. The measure of a civilization is not found in the wealth of its richest, but in PEDRO CAMPOS Groundcover vendor No. 652 how it treats its most afflicted. The last shall be first. It is that simple. That obvious. It feels so good to be good. As philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said, “The wrong is not only with those who fence off the land, but also with those who allow it.” Do not allow yourself to be disrespected. Do not honor those who exploit you. You owe nothing to anyone beyond doing your own part. I do. Judge. Reason. Decide. Build. And always consult your own moral compass. Be realistic, honest, and true to yourself in thought, word, and deed. God blesses us with life; the responsibility for what we do with it is ours. Author’s note: Maktub is an Arabic word that means “it is written.” Tattered love RON PAGERESKI Groundcover contributor Standing alone in a worn flannel shirt her eyes betray her deep hurt. She was used by many that's a fact, but now is the time for me to act. I'll place a flower in her tender hand, and let her know I make no demand. Give her room and plenty of space, put a smile on her anguished face. Used and abused, I know the feeling. But before her I will be kneeling. To ask her, be my lady, be my wife. It would bring such joy into my life. I would make her forget her sorrow and ease her hurt. Standing beside her in my own, worn flannel shirt. Home is a feeling AENEA KANAAN Groundcover contributor listening to autumn rain patter the windows and deck anywhere it can reach, it embraces with a cool dripping touch welcomed into a dry earth who missed its somber melody a distant train bellows across golden scarlet foliage soaked to the bone this is a smell I savor, a sound that takes me home. IS THIS IT KIONTE JONES Groundcover contributor Heavy-hearted on my days are dark feelings of old dirt walked on at a park a wilted flower watered without Sun or worm in the heat whose life is undone days without Sun nights with no moon wishing for peace to ride back soon I want a life, I need some peace I want to feel energy bursting through my feet yet life is sad but it's also bold praying I can make it to just turn old so I sit and I think, I think and I sit Asking myself if this life all I get SNOW Groundcover contributor You were happy So wonderfully free I think you were the most beauty my sad eyes had ever seen You were the epiphany of heaven's lovely symphony You were what makes dreams and people see Broke my heart, the abuse I witnessed from these fiends I couldn't make sense of it or why God's eyes seemed shut to see My baby was the most beautiful, most lovely, my sore eyes had ever begun to believe Seen a stranger pass me, thought was you and I couldn't help but stare and hope you were happy Even if it was just a dream in its passing, it changes everything Until I let you go, out of my heart, finally to set you free And, once again, to hope you are happy in what makes believe GROUNDCOVER NEWS You Were Happy 15 Groundcover Vendor Code While Groundcover is a non-profit, and paper vendors are self-employed contractors, we still have expectations of how vendors should conduct themselves while selling and representing the paper. The following is our Vendor Code of Conduct, which every vendor reads and signs before receiving a badge and papers. We request that if you discover a vendor violating any tenets of the Code, please contact us and provide as many details as possible. Our paper and our vendors should be positively impacting our County. • Groundcover will be distributed for a voluntary donation. I agree not to ask for more than the cover price or solicit donations by any other means. • When selling Groundcover, I will always have the current biweekly issue of Groundcover available for customer purchase. • I agree not to sell additional goods or products when selling the paper or to panhandle, including panhandling with only one paper or selling an issue more than 4 weeks old. • I will wear and display my badge when selling papers and refrain from wearing it or other Groundcover gear when engaged in other activities. • I will only purchase the paper from Groundcover Staff and will not sell to or buy papers from other Groundcover vendors, especially vendors who have been suspended or terminated. • I agree to treat all customers, staff, and other vendors respectfully. I will not “hard sell,” threaten, harass or pressure customers, staff, or other vendors verbally or physically. • I will not sell Groundcover under the influence of drugs or alcohol. • I understand that I am not a legal employee of Groundcover but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income. • I understand that my badge is property of Groundcover and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers. • I agree to stay off private property when selling Groundcover. • I understand to refrain from selling on public buses, federal property or stores unless there is permission from the owner. • I agree to stay at least one block away from another vendor in downtown areas. I will also abide by the Vendor Corner Policy. • I understand that Groundcover strives to be a paper that covers topics of homelessness and poverty while providing sources of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word. If you would like to report a violation of the Vendor Code or leave positive review of a Vendor experience please email contact@ groundcovernews.com or fill out the contact form on our website.

16 GROUNDCOVER NEWS FOOD Grape-Nut protein bars LUIZA DUARTE CAETANO Groundcover contributor Ingredients 2 cups Grape-Nuts cereal 1/2 cup tahini or peanut butter 2 tbsp chia or ground flax seeds 1/4 cup dried fruit 1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional) 2 tbsp protein powder or chickpea flour Splashes of warm milk or water (2-5 tbsp) Directions Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the chia or flax seeds 2 tbsp with warm water and set aside for a minute to thicken. Stir the peanut butter with a splash of milk or water to loosen it. Add the thickened chia/flax mix. Add the grape nuts and mix in to form a cookie-dough like mixture. Add more water or milk if it seems too dry. Add the dried fruit and nuts, if using. Press the dough down onto a greased baking sheet spread out until roughly one inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes or until dry to the touch and slightly golden. Wait to cool before slicing into bars. Store in an airtight container. The bars freeze well and can be eaten straight from the freezer too! A great back to school daytime snack. Have a recipe to share with Groundcover readers? Submit at submissions@ groundcovernews.com AUGUST 21, 2026 PHONE (734) 994 - 9174 • PEOPLESFOOD.COOP NATURAL FOODS MARKET & DELI 216 N. FOURTH AVENUE ANN ARBOR, MI MAKE MEALS YOU LOVE! Fresh ingredients to $5 OFF ANY PURCHASE OF $30 OR MORE One coupon per transaction. Must present coupon at the time of purchase. Coupon good for in-store only. No other discounts or coop cards apply. Not valid for gift cards, case purchases, beer or wine. 09/18/2026 OFFER EXPIRES 5/30/2026

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