Chris DuPont will celebrate his latest album, "Anxious Animal" at a CD release party with the help of Jetty Rae and Abigail Stauffer at the Blind Pig on Thursday.

His first album, “Lay No Claim” was recorded in churches, abandoned barns and stairwells--anywhere where he could get a natural reverb.

Watch for an interview with Dupont on AnnArbor.com on Monday.

Jetty Rae describes her music as "both acoustic and folk with a touch of soul," according to her website. She has also shared the stage with Sarah McLachlan and Miranda Lambert at Lilith Fair 2010.

Ann Arbor singer/songwriter Abigail Stauffer uses her strong voice to reflect the deeply personal and moving songs she writes.

8 p.m. (doors) Thursday, Feb. 28. Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. Cover, $7 (ages 18-20, $10).

The Ann Arbor area’s real gross domestic product increased by 0.3 percent in 2011 according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth rate put Ann Arbor behind both state and national averages, but was the regions second consecutive year of positive growth.

Manufacturing centers across the midwest showed GDP growth in 2011.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Ann Arbor was the 9th fastest growing metropolitan area out of 14 that were measured in Michigan.

Every region in Michigan saw their economy slow in 2011. No metropolitan areas in the state had a shrinking GDP in 2010, but the following year six regions saw their economies contract.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

In today’s dollars, Ann Arbor’s GDP is estimated at nearly $18.7 billion, making it the 115th largest economy in the country. The United State’s total GDP is estimated at approximately $13.4 trillion and grew by 1.6 percent in 2011.

According to an MLive report, a BEA economist said an area’s economic diversity was a key determinant for its economic growth rate. GDP ratings tend to favor metropolitan areas that manufacture and export in-demand items.

Detroit is the perfect example of how demand can effect an area’s fortunes. As the auto-industry has bounced back, Detroit’s GDP has grown by 5.4 and 3.5 percent the past two years after shrinking by 11.6 percent in 2009.

Ann Arbor has a more diverse economy, causing its GDP to fluctuate less widely than Detroit’s, shrinking by just 5.6 percent in 2009 before growing by 2.8 and 0.3 percent in 2010 and 2011.

Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2

Damon’s Grill’s Ann Arbor location, at 3150 Boardwalk Dr. near Briarwood Mall, will close Sunday after regular business hours, manager Richard Morawa said.

Mowara said he only learned the restaurant would be closing late Tuesday night and informed his staff on Thursday after spending a day visiting other restaurants around Ann Arbor.

The Damon's Grill location in Ann Arbor will close Sunday night.

AnnArbor.com file photo

“We took Wednesday to plan and I went out to a lot of restaurants in town and talked to managers to find out who else was hiring and picking up applications to help our employees find other jobs once we shut down.

There are roughly 50 employees at Damon’s who will be affected by the closing. Mowara said he was encouraging them to get the word out about the closing via social media and that he would be helping them find new jobs at other restaurants in Ann Arbor.

Morawa declined to comment on why the store was closing and did not want to speculate on his own future past Sunday. He also said the future of the memorabilia displayed throughout the restaurant was uncertain.

“That's above my pay grade," he said.

"Right now I’m just focused on trying to get jobs for the people who have been working here and trying to make sure we have a good last couple of days."

Damon’s lists 14 locations in 9 states on their website. According to the chain’s Wikipedia page, there were once 45 franchises across the Midwest. The restaurant was listed in a 2010 Forbes article on the fastest shrinking casual dining restaurant chains.

The article cited checks in excess of $20 and the cost of the large footprints required for the franchises as possible reasons for their closings. Damon's often have enough seating for more than 200 people and feature large screen TVs in a "clubhouse" in addition to a regular dining room.

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Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy's new database on school superintendent pay includes some outdated and inaccurate information, according to an MLive report.

In a Kalamazoo Gazette article published Friday morning, the Gazette reported Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Michael Rice could be the most-compensated superintendent in the state with a package worth $344,667 in 2012.

The database currently shows Utica Community Schools has the highest-compensated superintendent with $300,789 in total compensation.

The Mackinac Center collected information in 2012 from documents posted on district websites. Information supplied by the districts may have been outdated or inaccurate, said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy for the Midland-based free-market think tank.

Van Beek said he has received several phone calls from superintendents saying certain information is not correct.

"I'm changing those on the fly and we're going to continually update it and try to keep it as accurate as we can," he said.

Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Green was still listed on the database Friday morning as having the highest base salary in Michigan by $33,000. Green's contract calls for her to be paid $245,000.

The updated figures from Kalamazoo push Green from the seventh to the eighth most-compensated superintendent in the state with a total package worth $273,551. However, a W2 tax form report obtained from AAPS Friday shows Green received $308,433 in total compensation for 2012, including $58,244 contributed toward her pension, $1,080 in long-term disability, $2,912 for life insurance and $10,247 in Federal Insurance Contribution Act tax.

Some districts' information in the Mackinac Center database appears to be from 2011. Ann Arbor's 2011 W2 report was not immediately available Friday to determine whether the $273,551 total compensation figure used by the Mackinac Center was based on 2011 data. But no changes have been made to Green's contract since she and the district signed it in 2011.

District Spokeswoman Liz Margolis said discrepancies in salary and total compensation can occur from year to year based on how many pay periods there are in the annual calendar. The number of pay periods per year can vary by one or two, depending on how the calendar year lines up with the start of the district's fiscal year, she said.

• Read the MLive.com article.
• Check the Mackinac Center's database.

MLive reporter Melissa Anders contributed to this report.

Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.

Will Daniel Day-Lewis or Hugh Jackman take home the best actor Oscar? Will host Seth MacFarlane use his Stewie (from "Family Guy") voice all evening? Will anyone assume the now-famous Angelina Jolie Oscar stance this year?

These questions and more will be answered on Sunday evening. Tune in to Twitter and chime in, using the hashtag #a2oscars.

Rich Bayer, Cueter's service manager, released video footage of a vehicle believed to be the getaway car.

Courtesy of Rich Bayer

Editor's note: This article has been updated with information from Steve Demers, general manager of Cueter Chrysler Jeep Dodge.

A sedan seen in surveillance footage is believed to be the getaway car for suspects involved in the theft of five navigation radios Wednesday morning from Cueter Chrysler Jeep Dodge, 2448 Washtenaw Ave, in Ypsilanti Township.

The video, released by Cueter's service manager, Richard Bayer, is only a snippet of the night's surveillance footage. Steve Demers, Cueter's general manager, said the cameras captured the getaway car and images of the suspects.

Bayer said suspects in the car were scoping out the dealership around midnight. Two suspects began breaking into the vans about 12:15 a.m. while their accomplice stood lookout by the road.

The thieves broke into eight vans and stole five MyGIG Navigation Radios. They managed to elude a security guard who patrols the lot.

Bayer said the radios are basically on-board computers, each one worth about $4,000 when stolen with the internal core charge. Despite their cost, they are not usable in any other vehicle, Cueter said.

Including damages to the vans, the theft will set the dealership back more than $20,000.

"It’s probably going to be about $25,000 all in all," he said.

The sheriff's office continues to investigate this incident.

Kody Klein can be reached at kklein@mlive.com.

A 21-year-old Ann Arbor man returned home Thursday and found that someone had pried open his backdoor and stolen several electronic devices, according to Lt. Renee Bush of the Ann Arbor Police Department.

The unknown person entered the home on 500 block of Packard between the hours of 2 and 5:19 p.m.

The stolen property included an Xbox, three game station controllers, a charging station, videogames, laptops, a keyboard, and a duffel bag.

There are no suspects at this time.

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The Chelsea High School girls basketball team's Southeastern Conference crossover game at Temperance Bedford High School has been canceled. Bedford Community Schools had the day off due to inclement weather and the game was canceled as a result.

All five of the other SEC crossover games are going ahead as scheduled, including the first place matchup between SEC White champion Dexter and SEC Red champion Huron at Huron High School (7 p.m.)

The Chelsea-Bedford game was supposed to be a regular season finale for both teams pitting second place teams from the league's White and Red divisions. It will not be rescheduled because the MHSAA postseason begins on Monday for both squads.

Only girls teams are in action in the SEC on Friday as the boys teams all played on Thursday. Following is a schedule for the night. Be sure to check back at AnnArbor.com for results, stories and photos from Friday's action.

Girls:

Dexter at Huron, 7 p.m.
Tecumseh at Skyline, 7 p.m.
Ypsilanti at Saline, 7 p.m.
Lincoln at Pioneer, 7 p.m.
Livingston Christian at Rudolf Steiner, 6 p.m.

Boys:

Monroe Jefferson at Milan, 7 p.m.
Addison at Manchester, 7 p.m.
Willow Run at Detroit Edison Public School Academy, 7 p.m.
Arbor Prep at Washtenaw Christian, 7 p.m.
Rudolf Steiner at Livingston Christian, 7 p.m.
Petersburg Summerfield at Whitmore Lake, 7 p.m.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Federal automatic budget cuts set to take effect next Friday could mean the closure of the control tower at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport in Pittsfield Township, according to media reports.

Sequestration -- or a number of deep cuts that would trim $85 billion in federal spending from March 1 to Sept. 30 -- would mean that the Federal Aviation Administration would have to cut about $600 million in expenditures and implement furlough days for its employees.

The control tower at Willow Run Airport could lose its midnight shift if federal budget cuts go through.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

The U.S. Department of Transportation released a list of smaller airports that could see their control towers close, which also include Coleman A. Young in Detroit, W.K. Kellogg in Battle Creek and airports in Jackson, Muskegon and Marquette, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press.

The budget cuts could also mean a number of larger airports, including Willow Run in Ypsilanti, may lose their midnight shifts in their control towers, according to the report.

• Read the full report by the Detroit Free Press

Ann Arbor Municipal Airport is owned and operated by the city of Ann Arbor, but the control tower is staffed by about 20 FAA employees that the city does not pay for.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.

Michigan forward Alex Guptil, pictured above left during the Great Lakes Invitational, scored two goals for Michigan in its 5-3 defeat of Ohio State on Friday night

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com file photo

The Michigan hockey team started its road trip to Columbus, Ohio off right on Friday night, beating Ohio State 5-3. Alex Guptill had two goals and Jacob Trouba had a goal and two assists to lead the Wolverines.

The win was just the second on the road of the season for the Wolverines (11-18-2, 7-15-2-2 CCHA) who will try to complete the sweep on Saturday. Michigan has swept just one opponent all season.

Michigan lead 2-0 going into the third period, but the game was far from over as the teams would combine to score six goals in the final frame. Each Ohio State goal shrunk Michigan's lead to one, but the Wolverines responded every time and never surrendered the lead.

Steve Racine got the start in net for the Wolverines and finished with 29 saves. It was Racine's first start in net for the Wolverines since Jan. 11 and first win since Nov. 21.

• Read entire game story at USCHO.com

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter at @petcunningham.

Saline's Amanda Zylstra, pictured above, hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in Saline's 51-48 win over Ypsilanti.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com file photo

AnnArbor.com Washtenaw County Scoreboard

Saline 51, Ypsilanti 48
Story | Boxscore

Amanda Zylstra hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to break a 48-48 tie and give Saline a win over Ypsilanti.

Caitlin Ellis had a monster game for Saline (12-8) with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Tori Amison led Ypsilanti (13-7) with 15 points.

Buzzer beater video from The Saline Post:

Lincoln 32, Pioneer 19
Story | Boxscore

Dominique Foley led Lincoln (13-7) with 13 points, followed by Katelyn Morris, 10 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Nadia Reed led with 13 rebounds and added four points.

Desiree Cougill led Pioneer (9-11) with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"It feels good getting the win," said Lincoln assistant coach Anthony Finley, who filled in for the night for suspended head coach Mike Foley. "The Lincoln girls have never won this many games in a season.

"I think our kids played together and our point guard Arie Cargor, our leader all year, did a wonderful job of controlling the tempo for us. She could score 20 every game if she wanted to, but she'd rather be a leader. She plays not for herself, but for the team.

"And Nadia Reed had a breakout game. I'm so proud of her."

Tecumseh 59, Skyline 46
Boxscore

Anita Vandermeulen and Janae Sims each scored 12 points apiece to lead Skyline (7-13), but it wasn't enough to overcome the Tecumseh (7-12).

Hannah Galloway lad Tecumseh with 16 points and Kayla Kormos scored 15.

AnnArbor.com coverage:

Huron 34, Dexter 19
Story | Photo Gallery | Boxscore

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

This file will be updated throughout the night.

AnnArbor.com Washtenaw County Scoreboard

Tariq Stinson

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com file photo

Milan 74, Monroe Jefferson 27
Story | Boxscore

Milan’s C.J. Turnage scored a career-high 28 points as the Big Red led 43-19 at halftime to complete the Huron League season undefeated.

Turnage made nine field goals, his first two 3-pointers in his career, and shot 4 for 7 from the free-throw line, Latin Davis added 15 for Milan (18-1, 14-0).

Turnage became the fourth player in Milan history to score 1,000 points in a career.

Nick Chinavare led Monroe Jefferson with 13.

Milan has won back-to-back league title for the first time since the 1975-76 season, and over the span of two season have won 37 of their last 42 games.

“It was a night where we raised a lot of money for a girl from Jefferson who has leukemia, and it was just a great night for high school basketball,” Milan coach Josh Tropea said. “The kids wanted to win back-to-back league championships, but to do it undefeated makes it really special for this group of kids. It was a great night to celebrate our seniors and the contributions that have made to this program.”

Willow Run 55, Detroit Edison Public School Academy 48
Story | Boxscore

Daquanta Brown led Ypsilanti Willow Run (10-8, 5-1 Michigan Metro Athletic) with 19 points, and Eric Tunstall added 10, to help the Flyers outscore Detroit Edison Public School Academy in every quarter but the fourth.

Kevon Moore led DEPSA with 12 points, and Mike Jacobs added 10.

DEPSA reached the free-throw line 20 times before Willow Run made it once.

"It was a good win on the road," Willow Run coach Tim Cain said. "There are just some things that we have to overcome."

Whitmore Lake 63, Petersburg Summerfield 58
Boxscore

Rory Judge and Gunner McGibbon each scored 15 points to lead Whitmore Lake (6-13) in the Tri-County Conference victory. Whitmore Lake is now 5-9 in the league.

Addison 84, Manchester 52
Story | Boxscore

Ryan Stiles led Manchester (1-18, 1-12 Cascades) with 18 points, 12 of them from four 3-pointers.

"Manchester plays a real aggressive, unconventional style," Addison coach Andrew Kubish said. "Our point guard (Mitchell Dempsey) did a great job of breaking their press and finding open players for easy buckets. I thought we did a great job of playing basketball the way we wanted to play in the first half, and not letting them force us into playing the way they wanted us to play."

Arbor Prep 54, Saline Washtenaw Christian 38br> Boxscore

Michael Donatelli led Arbor Prep (7-9) with 13 points, while Adrian Harrison scored 10.

Calvary Christian 35, Warren Macomb Christian 32
Story | Boxscore

Ypsilanti Calvary Christian trailed 29-20 entering the fourth quarter, but they went on to outscore Warren Macomb Christian 15-3 in the fourth quarter to pick-up the come from behind victory.

Johnny Bryant scored 16 points to lead Ypsilanti Calvary, and James Bergler added 12.

Romero Hardy led Warren Macomb Christian with 10 points.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

The Huron High School girls basketball team defeated Dexter 34-19 in a crossover of Southeastern Conference division champions on Friday.

Joseph Tobianski is a photographer for AnnArbor.com.

Huron's Auzhane' King lays the ball up during a basketball game at Huron High School on Friday Feb. 22, 2013. Ann Arbor Huron defeated Dexter 34 to 19.

Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com

Huron coach Steve Vinson thought it seemed like a playoff game.

Dexter coach Mike Bavineau hopes his team plays completely differently once the postseason starts Monday.

Huron held Dexter to single digits scoring in all four quarters, including two in the third, of a 34-19 win Friday night at home in a matchup of Southeastern Conference first place teams. Dexter was champions of the SEC White Division, Huron of the Red.

More Coverage: Boxscore | Photo Gallery | Friday night girls basketball roundup

The game served as the regular-season finale for both teams. Dexter finished the year at 17-3, and Huron finished at 15-5.

Now, both can officially look forward to Monday, when they both open the playoffs with district quarterfinal games at Huron. Dexter will take on Skyline, while Huron will take on Ypsilanti.

But Dexter wouldn’t let the looming playoffs -- and the fact that crossover games don’t count in the league standings -- be an excuse for a tough outing.

“In the grand scheme, this game doesn’t mean anything,” Bavineau said. “Monday’s game is really, really big. We can’t let this affect how we play Monday and give someone an opportunity to knock us off.”

Both teams came out cold on a tough night for offense. Neither team could score in the first four minutes of the game, and Dexter took a 6-5 lead into the first break.

But the Dreadnaughts didn’t get another bucket until the 2:32 mark of the second quarter, while Huron went on a 9-0 run, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Payton Sims.

Huron never trailed again, as it played a stingy half-court defense that denied the Dreadnaughts any open looks from outside and kept them out of the paint.

“It was one of those grind out victories,” Vinson said. “It felt like a kind of a playoff game, a playoff atmosphere, where you’ve just got to win with really good defense and getting stops.”

The game marked a season-low for points scored for both teams. Dexter’s previous low this season was 32 points. Huron’s was 37.

“We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” Bavineau said. “We were tentative with the ball.”

Kira Smith led Huron with 9 points, while Sims and Auzhane King each had six. Makenzie Svirha led Dexter with five.

Of Dexter’s three regular-season losses, two have now come to Huron. The Dreadnaughts lost, 49-37, to Huron Feb. 5.

So despite the timing of the rematch, Bavineau said his team had plenty of motivation heading in.

“We were excited and ready to play them because we wanted to prove our worth and prove that we could do the things that we needed to do to beat them,” Bavineau said.

Friday could end up being the second in a three-game series between the two teams. If both win their quarterfinal and semifinal games, they would meet in a district final at 7 p.m. next Friday.

And if that happens, Vinson expects another defensive battle.

“I thought it was a really good way to go into districts because it was that type of playoff atmosphere,” Vinson said.

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.

Tiesto performs at Eastern Michigan University in 2011.

Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com file photo

Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center will surely become one big dance party when Tiesto and special guests Tommy Trash and Quintino roll into town Wednesday.

Tiesto was originally scheduled to visit Ypsilanti with Dada Life in October, 2012. However, EMU announced that a back injury caused him to have to cancel the show.

The Grammy-nominated DJ has been making house, trance, and other styles of techno music since the late '90s. Along the way, he has accrued millions of fans who dig his solo albums and releases, high-energy live performances, and ever-growing list of collaborations and remixes of major artists.

View a photo gallery of Tiesto’s previous appearance at the Convocation Center for a taste of what the crowd might expect from the upcoming show.

Back on the tour route after a summer residency in Ibiza and then his back injury, Tiesto is hitting cities across the U.S. on a new installment of his “Club Life College Invasion Tour.”

Tiesto could not be reached for an interview, but you can keep up with him on his Twitter account and tour website to find out how the tour is going.

With a large online following, his radio show “Tiesto’s Club Life,” is podcast each week free on iTunes. His officaltiesto Youtube channel features videos of his performances and episodes of “In the Booth,” a behind-the-scenes look.

Doing it big is his M.O. After his previous appearance at EMU, he went on to perform a record-breaking DJ set at the Home Depot Center, in Los Angeles. 26,000 people in the crowd was reportedly the largest DJ set in U.S. history.

As big as that crowd was, it paled in comparison to the millions who watched him perform at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was the first DJ to ever get the prestigious gig.

Now considered an electronic music classic, Tiesto’s 2000 remix of Delerium’s “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan helped propel his career forward. The electronic music powerhouse has since received numerous critical accolades for his solo work and collaborations with big names such as Three 6 Mafia, Sigur Ros, Nelly Furtado, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Deadmau5, just to name a few.

In 2007, his third studio album "Elements of Life" was nominated for “Best Electronic/Dance Album” by the Grammy Awards. It was followed by Kaleidoscope, in 2009, which topped music charts around the world. More recently, DJ Magazine named him the 3rd most popular DJ in their “100 Popularity Poll” (he has been at the #1 spot several times). And along the way, the MTV Music Awards, Billboard, Mixmag, and other trend setters have praised him.

Beyond his own DJ career, Tiesto produces other electronic music artists through his record label, Musical Freedom. This month, "Musical Freedom Radio" debuted as a brand new iTunes podcast.

Tiesto’s upcoming performance with Tommy Trash and Quintino at the EMU Convocation Center promises to be a blast of danceable electronic jams along with visually stimulating light and video projections. Wear your best shoes for dancing and throw those glow-stick-wielding hands in the air for this one.

Fans of sports-talk station WTKA’s locally produced “Ann Arbor’s Big Show” may have been dismayed Monday to find out it had been replaced by “The Huge Show,” a program that originates in west Michigan.

“Ann Arbor’s Big Show” aired Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. in the so-called drive-time slot.

Bill Simonson from Grand Rapids station WBBL hosts the "The Huge Show" now filling the 3-6 p.m. slot.

“I know at times it sounds like Sparty radio has invaded Ann Arbor in the afternoons, but we’re working on that,” said Weintraub. “We are going to make a concerted effort to cover (the University of) Michigan in a favorable way … to give the show more of an Ann Arbor flavor.”

He also said that "there will always be opportunities for special live events and shows in the afternoons" that would be Ann Arbor or U-M themed.

Weintraub said the station is not making any other lineup changes at this time. He hopes to continue to work with two of “Ann Arbor’s Big Show” hosts, Jeff Defran and Ben Holden, on future projects.

“We want them to have a role at the station. We just have to find it,” Weintraub added.

WTKA (1050 AM) came on the air in 1945 as WPAG. It was sold to pizza magnate Tom Monaghan in 1987 and he renamed it WPZA. It became WTKA in 1992, and is owned by media conglomerate Cumulus Radio.

A parade of costumed community members will march through Michigan Stadium's tunnel and jump into a cold pool set up on the field for the Polar Plunge on Saturday.

The Polar Plunge is part of the University of Michigan's partnership with the Special Olympics.

AnnArbor.com file

"It’s an amazing opportunity and partnership," said Kimberly Purdy, chief marketing and development officer for Special Olympics Michigan.

AnnArbor.com reported the announcement made by the U-M athletic department that it would be partnering with the Special Olympics in November 2012. Following the announcement, U-M also confirmed that the Big House, Big Heart race would no longer end in Michigan Stadium. U-M officials said the decision was at least in part due to making the charitable relationship with Special Olympics a top priority.

Purdy said more than 400 people have registered for the plunge already.

The event will feature celebrity judges including former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, current coach Brady Hoke, Olympic swimmer Peter Vanderkaay, Miss Washtenaw County Marissa Cowan and WDIV sports director Bernie Smilovitz.

Although registration began months ago, Purdy said walk-up registration is welcomed starting at 10:30 a.m.

After registration is completed, Carr and Hoke will give a pre-plunge motivational speech and plungers will start jumping in at noon.

Once the last person takes the plunge, an award ceremony and lunch will take place.

Purdy said anyone who can't make it out to the plunge but is still interested in donating to Special Olympics Michigan, can do so for the first time in the voluntary contributions schedule of their taxes.

More information about the event, including the awards, can be found on the First Giving website.

A move initiated by office space renovations turned into a full-time relocation for Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, chief executive officer of the University of Michigan Health System.

Pescovitz has moved her office and four staff members from Medical Science Research I on the main medical campus to the ex-Pfizer complex U-M has developed as the North Campus Research Complex in north Ann Arbor.

University of Michigan Health System CEO Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz speaks at an event in 2011.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com file photo

Pescovitz’s office was undergoing renovations in July and so she moved to NCRC then, said Pete Barkey, director of public relations for the University of Michigan Health System.

Space constraints in the core area of the medical campus were a factor in Pescovitz’s office move, Barkey said. The move means UMHS staff more directly involved with patient care than Pescovitz can be more centrally located, Barkey said.

“It just made sense from a space-use standpoint,” Barkey said. “(Pescovitz) runs the medical school and the health system, which NCRC is a part of.”

Pescovitz’s office is now in Building 18, the same as David Canter, executive director of NCRC.

The NCRC location is isolated from the main medical campus.

It's also separate from Doug Strong, CEO of U-M Hospitals and Health Centers, who has an office in a UMHS building on North Ingalls Drive.

Pescovitz moved her office prior to a December email to her entire staff telling them the Health System needed to cut more of its costs because its revenue was coming up short in covering its expenses.

Office space at NCRC is in high demand, according to institutes that have recently moved their offices to the complex.

U-M officials acknowledged they took a risk in turning the NCRC from a vacant ex-Pfizer space to a multimillion dollar research hub, but said they're now turning their focus to making the most of the opportunity that they're presented with in the NCRC.

In a July interview with AnnArbor.com, James Woolliscroft, dean of U-M's Medical School, said NCRC's layout allows U-M faculty and administrators to "think differently."

"Space wasn't a limiting factor. When space is the limiting factor then you're very reluctant to use it for more experimental relationships and collaborations," Woolliscroft said in July. "In some ways it’s the coffee pot. [NCRC] is allowing people to bump into one another."

The NCRC space is helping them poach top talent from competing research institutions, the most recent of which includes Harvard University.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.

Michael Radant

Courtesy of WCSO

A 37-year-old Chelsea man charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct will proceed to trial on April 8 after attorneys were unable to reach a plea agreement.

Michael Radant appeared in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Thursday for a final pretrial hearing at which attorneys told Judge David Swartz there had been no progress toward resolving the case before it went to trial.

Radant, a co-owner of a downtown Chelsea eatery, is accused of sexually forcing himself on a 37-year-old woman at his home in the 700 block of North Main Street in Chelsea last November.

The woman, who is a long-time acquaintance of Radant's, said she had been staying with him in his basement apartment, according to a transcript of a preliminary examination held in November.

"Was it ever a romantic relationship?" Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Blake Hatlem asked the woman at the hearing.

"No," replied the woman, who is not being identified.

On the night of Thursday, Nov. 15, the woman testified that she and Radant drank alcohol and watched television together before she received a telephone call and went into her bedroom to talk. Radant eventually followed her into the bedroom, where the alleged assault occurred on the woman's bed, court records indicate.

The woman reported the incident to Chelsea police early the morning after that, records indicate.

Radant is the co-owner of Ellie’s Chelsea, a burger and sandwich shop located at 312 N. Main St. in the Clocktower Commons in Chelsea.

He remains in the Washtenaw County Jail on $10,000 cash or surety bond.

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

An abandoned home on Pinecrest.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

The city of Ann Arbor again is turning its attention to an abandoned home and a vacant lot on Pinecrest Avenue on the city’s east side.

Building officials expected to address the properties late last year but were delayed by legal concerns in its dangerous buildings program and by the demolition process of six vacant homes on Main Street on the city’s north side.

Ralph Welton, the planning and development department’s chief development official, said the city’s Building Board of Appeals is ready to start holding regular hearings on blighted properties citywide in March.

“We started working on these and other properties in the fall and some of it got sidetracked because of the Near North demos and also legal issues,” Welton said. “In order to make sure that everything we are doing was right we had to delay. Everything should be up and running in March.”

The two properties on Pinecrest will be among the first addressed, he said.

A home at 2365 Pinecrest Ave. has sat vacant since it was foreclosed on in 2006. LaSalle Bank now holds the mortgage and has mostly failed to maintain the property.

Among other issues at the house are a deteriorating roof that allows the elements to get inside the home. A tarp was placed over the roof, but the tarp has since shredded. Parts of the interior have been stripped, siding is falling off sections of the home and the soffits are deteriorating in spots. The backyard is strewn with debris and garbage.

The property has an assessed value of $66,000.

Another home at 2434 Pinecrest was demolished early last year after sitting vacant for nearly four years, but the property, which has a large cement slab on it, has sat untouched since then. Welton said the owners have not contacted the city.

Prior to the demolition, the property owner, Michael Coghlan, told AnnArbor.com he wanted to build a new home or sell the improved lot.

“We have been monitoring the properties but we have not heard from the owners at all,” Welton said.

The hearings are essentially show cause hearings in which property owners must explain to the board why a building shouldn’t be demolished or other legal action shouldn’t be taken. If a property owner fails to appear or the board rules against an owner, then notice to demolish the building within 20 days is given.

Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.