LIVINGSTON COUNTY, MI – Sometimes one news topic dominates our newsroom for a year. In 2020, it was COVID-19. In 2023, it was affordability in Ann Arbor.
Next year is pointing to be the year of data centers.
On Thursday, our government reporter Jen Eberbach broke the latest news that Meta is the confirmed tech giant behind the $1 billion data center project in Howell Township.
Read more: Meta behind $1B data center project near Howell, trustee confirms
This comes two weeks after OpenAI and Oracle were announced as the backers of the $7 billion data center project in Saline Township.
Eberbach, as well as reporters Jordyn Pair, Jackie Smith and Nathan Clark, have all chipped in on data center coverage the last two weeks. The developments span newly announced projects, residents organizing future opposition and townships preparing new zoning laws.
Just to catch you up, here are all the other data center stories MLive/The Ann Arbor News have done in just the last two weeks:
Our statewide MLive organization is also all over data centers, as Fife Lake residents in northern Michigan got into heated discussions with developers over a project up there.
I’m sharing all these stories with you for one reason: MLive/The Ann Arbor News is a trusted source for information on data centers. Eberbach was the first to report Meta’s involvement in Howell Township, and the rest of the team is flexing all over the region to cover this now dominant topic.
With that said, we covered more than just data centers this week.
Business reporter William Diep spoke with the friends and colleagues of the late Michigan Theater organist Andrew Rogers. Many recalled interacting with him after film screenings, and colleagues also noted his smile, kind personality and dad humor.
“It is a huge loss, not only of his talent, but of his personality and soul,” Russ Collins, former executive director and chief executive officer at Marquee Arts, said of Rogers.
Rogers, 74, died Nov. 13 from a heart issue at his home in Fenton. A memorial concert for his life is planned for Dec. 4, with more details to come.
In other sad news, police are investigating the sudden death of Ann Arbor developer Margaret Poscher. The 67-year-old was discovered dead in her home Oct. 10, said Chris Page, Ann Arbor police spokesperson. No foul play is suspected.
In lighter news, readers flocked to news that actor Jeff Daniels is one big name behind the upcoming Chelsea restaurant JD’s Stage Bistro. It will seat 100 and feature a wood-fired pizza oven, cocktail bar, patio and private event spaces.
Smith also had a well-read update on the Greenhills Schools expansion with Summers-Knoll.
Lastly, keep an eye out on Saturday for a house moving through Ann Arbor streets. The University of Michigan will relocate the house of World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg from 308 E. Madison St. to Central Campus.
Ryan Stanton writes:
“Wallenberg, who came from a prominent Swedish family likened to the Rockefellers, studied architecture at UM and graduated with honors in 1935. He went on to become a Swedish diplomat of sorts and famously helped save tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust during World War II, risking his life going into Hungary and creating diplomatic passes and safe houses where Jewish people could live under Sweden’s protection.”
The modest home, where Wallenberg first lived as a UM freshman in 1931, was one of few spared from recent demolition for the UM dorm project.
