Bob Eccles

One man was killed this afternoon and another injured in an explosion at the Dexter Utilities Department. 

Dexter Area Fire Department Chief Loren Yates says his department responded around 1:39pm.  When they arrived, they found two injured men on the roof.  Chief Yates says it appears the men were using torches inside a processing tank when the flames ignited methane gas, causing the explosion.

The injured men were taken the the University of Michigan Hospital, where Ann Arbor dot com is reporting one of the victims died.  The other is said to be in stable condition. 

Area residents are being encouraged to give the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle a try for a week next week. 

The organization Compassion over Killing is sponsoring a number of Veg Week events around the country, including Ann Arbor Veg Week next week. 

Event co-chair Dana Gramprie says there are three great reasons to give up meat: One, it's good for your health, and two, it's better for the environment.  Gramprie says going vegetarian or vegan is also better for animals, who she says are often bred in horrible conditions on industrial farms. 

The interview process for internal Ypsilanti and Willow Run teacher candidates who want to continue their work with Ypsilanti Community Schools next year is just about over. 

Ypsilanti Education Association President Krista Boyer says Ypsilanti teachers have been notified that all but three of their internal candidates have been interviewed, with the last interviews taking place next week. 

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman has announced that she'll retire when her contract is up at the end of the 2014 school year. 

Her announcement came at today's meeting of the university's Board of Regents.

Congressman John Dingell issued a statement thanking Coleman for her service to the community and her contributions to the university and the people of the state of Michigan.

Ypsilanti City Council may face some tough decisions on developing Water Street, as the process of updating the city's Master Plan clashes with plans for a county recreation center on the northwest corner of the property. 

The design team that's taking public input and converting it into recommendations for council recommends locating the proposed recreation center further south on the parcel, mostly due to the building's large size and parking requirements.

With sequestration grounding the U-S Air Force Thunderbirds, the Yankee Air Museum has had to change the dates for its "Thunder over Michigan" air show from Fathers Day weekend to August 10th and 11th. 

Show Director Kevin Walsh says it would have been tough to compete with other events happening that weekend - including a race at Michigan International Speedway without the Thunderbirds. 

He says most of the performers were able to accommodate the date change. 

Ypsilanti residents have been taking advantage of the opportunity to let the design team handling the city's master plan update know what's on their minds.  WEMU's Bob Eccles stopped by a downtown studio where the team has been talking with residents about the process.

One Ypsilanti city council member thinks it would be wise for the city to be ready to add some charter amendment issues to the ballot in the event the state puts a road construction funding issue up for a vote. 

Council member Pete Murdock has four charter amendments in mind, most of which have been previously recommended by the city’s Charter Commission. 

Ypsilanti residents have a chance to help design the city's future at a series of meetings this week.  It's part of the process for updating the city's master plan. Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

  Shape Ypsi

The new unified Ypsilanti and Willow Run school district is expected to hire nine principals, and six of those jobs have now been filled by internal candidates from both districts. 

Nearly two dozen internal candidates applied for the jobs, and some may find other positions with Ypsilanti Community Schools. 

Washtenaw Intermediate School District Superintendent Scott Menzel says there are three principal positions yet to fill, and those will likely go to external candidates.

The unified Ypsilanti-Willow Run school board has approved black and “Vegas” gold as the colors for Ypsilanti Community Schools. 

That was the recommendation from the board’s Name and Identity Advisory Group, which also suggested the board put three potential mascots up for a student vote: Trailblazers, Grizzlies and Flyers.  

Students in grades seven through 12 will vote on a mascot next week, with the winning choice to be approved by the unified school board at its April 24th meeting.

Environment Michigan Tuesday night made a presentation to Ypsilanti City Council on how the city could become a solar energy leader in Michigan, but its recommendation that the city set a goal of having solar panels on 1,000 roofs by the year 2020 was not immediately acted upon. 

Ypsilanti's city council has approved easements and a 20 year lease for the site the city hopes DTE Energy will choose to construct a large solar panel array.  Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

A new report says Ypsilanti could benefit both environmentally and financially from becoming a “solar destination”, and recommends the city set the goal of having solar panels installed on 1,000 city roofs by the year 2020. 

Environment Michigan says the city would benefit from revenue from permits that would be required to install solar panels. 

The group says a study in California showed solar panels added $20-thousand to the value of a home. 

The city of Ypsilanti has made the first cut in the effort to be home to a four million dollar DTE Energy solar array. 

City Council on Tuesday is expected to approve a lease and easement for the project, part of the next phase in the selection process. 

DTE Energy is looking for a place to install a one-point-three megawatt solar array, and the city has proposed locating the array on four-and-a-half acres of land that once served as a landfill, north of I-94 and east of Huron Street.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley is almost always a busy place, but things really pick up in the spring.  Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

When it comes to the percentage of adults registered as organ and tissue donors, Washtenaw County is second only to Lenawee County.  Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/clerk_register/gift-of-life  

High school students in the new Ypsilanti Community School District will attend Ypsilanti High School next year.  Middle school students will attend classes at what is now Willow Run High School and the adjoining Willow Run Intermediate Learning Center.  Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

The local LGBT community is closely following the U.S. Supreme Court's tackling of the issue of gay marriage.  Hear more from WEMU's Bob Eccles.

"Love and Honor", a movie with many connections to the Ann Arbor community, opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

The movie marks the directorial debut of Danny Mooney, an Ann Arbor actor and filmmaker who graduated from Pioneer High School and the University of Michigan.

Much of the film was shot in Ann Arbor.  It tells the story of a soldier who gets a "Dear John" letter while serving in Vietnam.  He and his buddy decide to travel halfway around the world to return to Ann Arbor in the hopes of changing the girl's mind.