The Washtenaw Health
Initiative
Opioid
Project
hosted
the
Washtenaw
County Opioid Summit on
Tuesday,
where
various
state and local stakeholders
came
together
for
the
discussion focused on the
county’s high, but declining,
rate of opioid overdoses and
the link between trauma
and addiction. Participants
learned
about
opioid
use in the county, heard
testimonials and attended
breakout sessions relating
to
primary
prevention,
pain
management,
harm
reduction, treatment and
recovery.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell,
D-Mich.,
shared
a
few
words
on
her
personal
relationship
to
opioid
addiction,
discussing
how her father suffered
from
prescription
drug
addiction, and her younger
sister died from a drug
overdose. Dingell stressed
opioid
addiction
affects
many people and said it is
necessary to reduce the
stigma associated with the
illness.
“This is really real to me.
It’s not easy for me to talk
about. I talk about it more
than I did, because you
look at me and think I’ve
got this great life,” Dingell
said. “And I am lucky, I’ve
got a lot of friends, I’ve got
a lot of family, they keep me
going. But I do talk about
it, because it happens in
every family, it happens
in
every
community,
every neighborhood, and
you cannot imagine the
desperation.”
As
the
warm
weather
continues, areas of Michigan
are increasingly at risk for
Eastern Equine Encephalitis
(EEE) virus, according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. This rare brain
infection is spread through
mosquitoes and approximately
one third of people infected die
from the disease. There is no
cure or vaccine for the virus.
Nine
people
have
been
infected in Michigan, including
three fatalities. Thirty-three
animal cases of EEE have also
been confirmed in 15 Michigan
counties,
including
Allegan,
Barry, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass,
Genesee, Jackson, Kalamazoo,
Kent,
Lapeer,
Livingston,
Montcalm, Newaygo, St. Joseph
and Van Buren.
Katherine
Spindler,
professor of microbiology and
immunology at the University
of Michigan, explained that
though EEE is not a particularly
new virus, it has been more
prominent this year.
“Is this going to become an
epidemic?” Spindler questioned.
“I suspect that’s not the case …
We’re approaching winter, and
a hard frost is going to kill off
many, if not all, mosquitoes that
are fostering this virus.”
LSA sophomore Nicole Lin
of Grand Rapids, a recently
affected area in Kent County,
said in light of the virus, she
has growing concerns for her
family and friends.
“It’s been pretty scary hearing
about it,” Lin said. “I have a lot
of friends and family there, and
my mom is worried. I’ve talked
to my friends to make sure
they’re staying safe, especially
since a lot of them get out late
from work and school.”
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Author of the New York
Times best-selling trilogy
“Divergent”
Veronica
Roth spoke at the Ann
Arbor Public Library about
her
new
book
Tuesday
night. Residential College
lecturer
and
author
Alexander Weinstein led
the conversation in front
of a crowd of nearly 200
people.
Roth’s new book, “The
End and Other Beginnings,”
published Tuesday, is a
collection
of
dystopian
short stories. In addition
to the “Divergent” trilogy,
Roth
has
written
other
dystopian novels including
“Carve the Mark” and “The
Fate Divides.”
The night began with a
reading of a selection from
Roth’s book and Weinstein’s
new
book,
“Universal
Love.” They then opened up
a conversation surrounding
the topics of writing and
dystopian novels.
Roth and Weinstein both
said growing up in the
Midwest had a significant
impact on their writing.
“I feel like when I try to
write about other places, I
don’t feel like I know those
places,” Roth said. “I’m
always a visitor in those
places. I’ve lived in the
Chicago area since I was six
years old and this is home.”
The City of Ann Arbor Planning
Commission convened Tuesday
night to discuss several zoning
projects for the city.
The first proposal brought to
the table was the Hideaway Lane
Planned Project, which asks the
commission members to amend a
previous site plan. Originally, the
plan was to build an additional
17 single-family homes, but the
designers of the complex want
to convert them to two-family
homes in order to make them more
affordable for first-time owners.
This would increase the number
of homes on this site from 29 to 45.
Community
member
Mike
Gustafson asked the commission
to reject the proposal. He cited
safety hazards regarding narrow
streets, traffic and a lack of
sufficient room for fire trucks in
the case of an emergency.
“As members of the community,
as citizens of Ann Arbor, as your
constituents, we urge you to reject
this petition,” Gustafson said.
“Traffic per day is substantial
given the very tight quarters
there… Many of us are concerned
about fire engines getting in there
in the event of an emergency. We
feel that, given those dimensions,
this could be very irresponsible
and very dangerous.”
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 3
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
County tackles
opioid crisis,
addiction at
WCC summit
Government officials, community
organizations address epidemic
State Rep. Steven Johnson,
R-Wayland, introduced a bill last
week that would allow the sale of
20mg or less of flavored nicotine
in the state, undercutting the
ban Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
placed on flavored e-cigarettes
in early September.
Whitmer
declared
the
ban after Joneigh Khaldun,
Michigan’s
chief
medical
executive
and
chief
deputy
director
for
health
at
the
Michigan
Department
of
Health and Human Services,
determined youth vaping was a
public health emergency.
However, critics of the ban
believe this will only push
children and those who are
trying to quit smoking to start
smoking cigarettes again. In
an interview with The Daily,
Johnson said he agrees this is
a problem for young people, but
explained that he does not think
this ban properly addresses the
issue.
“The governor identified a
legitimate problem that there
is a youth vaping problem,”
Johnson said. “Now as far as
how do we address that, I don’t
believe that her unilateral ban
on flavored vapes is the right
solution.”
Two state
bills seek
to thwart
vape ban
GOVERNMENT
Veronica Roth discusses latest
novel, upcoming work at book talk
‘Divergent’ author, ‘U’ lecturer Alexander Weinstein read from new projects
Planning
proposals
divide A2
citizens
ANN ARBOR
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Authors Alexander Weinstein and Veronica Roth talk about Roth’s new book “The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future” at the Ann Arbor District Library
Tuesday evening.
Concerns rise as state experiences
increase in reported cases of EEE
Outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis prompts government response
FRANCESCA DUONG
Daily Staff Reporter
JASMIN LEE
For The Daily
See AUTHOR, Page 3A
DESIGN BY JONATHAN WALSH
statement
See VAPING, Page 3A
See ZONING, Page 3A
REMY FARKAS &
ZAYNA SYED
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporter
See SUMMIT, Page 3A
See EEE, Page 3A
ALYSSA MCMURTRY
Daily Staff Reporter
Sleeping in the cell
GOP representatives
introduce legislation to
defy embargo on sales
Residents speak out on
change to building code
at commission meeting
EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter