What gives you hope for Washtenaw County in 2025?

Here at Concentrate we're all about keeping on top of what's next for Washtenaw County, so we've made a bit of a tradition of ending each year by looking to the year ahead. In 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, and 2017, we've asked our staff to share what they're most excited about in Washtenaw County in the coming year. This year we changed our annual prompt just a little bit to ask: What gives you hope for Washtenaw County in 2025?

We were surprised by the diversity of results, ranging from new Ypsilanti businesses to a sustainable energy utility in Ann Arbor to the riches found in our local libraries. Take a gander at our staff's picks and feel free to share yours with us on social media. Happy New Year!

The following views are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent Concentrate as a whole.

Yen Azzaro, Voices of Youth mentor: I'm excited to support the blossoming, new businesses in Ypsilanti. My family loves Putt-R-Round, the mini-golf and putt-putt arcade. You can play the nine-hole course or the carnival-style courses for tickets, which you then exchange for awesome prizes. In the last year, three new bakeries have also opened in Ypsilanti: Beara Bakes, Bird Dog Baking, and B-Cubed Bakery. I think that officially makes Ypsi a carb haven. I'm also anticipating the opening of a gallery at the corner of Huron Street and Michigan Avenue, and Book Love Bar, a bookstore café in the former Stone and Spoon space. 

For arts and culture, I'm excited about one event in particular. My husband, artist Nick Azzaro, is partnering with the talented Crystal Harding, director of the Ypsilanti Youth Choir, as part of CultureSource's Creators of Culture grant program. This February they will perform a musical and live art dialogue, volleying voice and real time mural-making using wheatpaste (large-scale collage of found and made imagery) at Ypsilanti Free Methodist Church. I expect it to be a beautiful, uplifting event for all ages! 
Doug CoombeBeara Bakes owner Cat Spencer.
Doug Coombe, managing photographer: I’m most excited about the passage of Proposal A in Ann Arbor, which establishes a publicly owned sustainable energy utility. Like many Ann Arborites, the thought of disconnecting from DTE is tantalizing.  Our neighborhood routinely loses power in the summer. 

As a lifelong weather nerd, the increased severity of storms brought on by climate change in my lifetime is frightening. (On an ironic note, after I took photos for a Concentrate story on climate migration to Washtenaw County last August, I came home to find my basement flooded in a torrential storm. My basement never floods. Chalk it up to another annual “1,000-year” storm.) Given the dysfunctional state of national politics, I think an inspiring local solution to address climate change is one our best hopes to tackle the problem of carbon emissions. 
Doug CoombeJoe Lange by solar panels at Northside Community Center in Ann Arbor. 
Jaishree Drepaul, writer: Listening to more of The Drumbeat podcast with Josie Ann Lee and Pete Martell is something I'm looking forward to in 2025. Their discussions on how Michigan's legislature and courts impact our community are really unique. They talk only about policy, not politics. The conversations are genuinely interesting – and timely, I think, given the current temperature of the social climate. Interviewing the duo earlier this year was truly memorable. I left with a lot to think about – ranging from Second Look Legislation to re-evaluate lengthy prison sentences, to the things we accept in the community solely because they've always been done a certain way. I'm hopeful that the podcast will drum up more curiosity and new perspectives across Washtenaw County. 
Doug Coombe"The Drumbeat with Josie and Pete" podcast hosts Peter Martel and Josie Ann Lee.
Patrick Dunn, managing editor: Change starts at a local, grassroots level. In 2025, I'm finding hope in the many examples of Washtenaw County residents working hard to foster a more loving, tolerant, and supportive community right here. I saw that spirit in the opening night for Uplift Ann Arbor, as partners embraced each other after walking through the doors of the county's first dedicated LGBTQ+ bar since Aut Bar closed in 2020. I see it in Eastern Michigan University's College in Prison program, which recently helped its first participant complete a bachelor's degree while in Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (with more grads on the way). And I see it in I-AAM, a new program that offers free mental health care for Ypsilanti's young Black men and their families. The broader national picture may be uncertain, but the good work goes on in our county.
Doug CoombeI-AAM founder and Clinical Director Leah Mills-Chapman.
Elinor Epperson, writer: I know this will sound like it was written by Arthur, but I’m looking forward to using local libraries more in 2025. I spent this summer writing my thesis at the Ypsilanti District Library (YDL). I’ve come to appreciate having a true third place where I can work without having to spend money.

I’ve also been getting back into reading for fun now that I’m done with grad school. It keeps me off of screens (when I can get my hands on a physical book, that is), and browsing the library catalog is like window shopping for me. 

Through my haphazard, infant reporting career, I’ve learned about the resources libraries provide and what they stand for. Libraries provide Wi-Fi for residents who can’t afford it, tax help for seniors, and support services for all kinds of people. I was tickled pink when I discovered YDL’s seed library.

And libraries are big advocates for the First Amendment and democratizing information. Libraries celebrate Banned Book Week every fall. The Michigan Library Association contributed to a bill package that would make it harder to ban books in Michigan libraries. 

I’ll be honest: I had a hard time coming up with something for this prompt. I’m worried about what the future holds. But when I remember what we have here, in Ypsi, I feel better. I love this town and I hope it continues to be the beacon it is. Our libraries are part of that.
Doug CoombeItems available for checkout from Ypsilanti District Library's Library of Things.
Clifton Kirkman III, writer: The year 2024 has brought on a whirlwind of emotions, challenges, and successes. It’s hard to believe that we have come to the end of the year. Now the question on the table is, “What in Washtenaw County gives you hope for 2025?” For me, the future of education in Washtenaw County gives me hope, especially the culture that is being fostered at Ypsilanti Community Middle School (YCMS).

2025 looks very promising for students and parents. After speaking with Principal
Charles Davis Jr., he revealed multiple upcoming events including a Sneaker Ball on Jan. 10 and students' plans to attend the annual National Society of Black Engineers convention in Chicago this spring. School staff also have plans to create an innovation center and maker space in their spacious new building.

One thing is sure: Ypsilanti Community Middle School and its administration are innovators. They are the catalysts for successfully engaging students and the Ypsilanti community at large. Davis said, “I look forward to seeing you and your children at these exciting events as we continue to foster a vibrant and engaging academic community at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.”
Doug CoombeYCMS Principal Charles Davis.
Sarah Rigg, On the Ground Ypsilanti project manager: As we look forward to 2025, it's the youth of Washtenaw County, and Ypsilanti particularly, that give me hope for the future. I've mentored some of the young people writing for Concentrate's Voices of Youth program, but I've also interviewed many local young people for articles. These savvy teens and preteens are making change at the local level by serving on advisory boards for Corner Health and its partnership with local schools, exploring in print what more equitable sex ed could look like, and forming all-girls teams to win big at a national-level Black engineers' competition. Sometimes I don't know about the adults, but the kids make me think things might turn out okay.
Jamall BuffordStudents and mentors from the 2024 Voices of Youth Freedom School program.
Jenny Rose Ryan, writer: As a somewhat recent transplant and parent of a teenager, 2025 is going to be all about looking for hope in Washtenaw County’s parks and green spaces, and finding more and more ways to get out and literally touch grass. I am also excited about the ongoing expansion of dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian infrastructure that increases accessibility to transit so we all have safe ways to get around that are good for both individual health and the environment. We’re lucky here because we have the best of both rural and urban living. We have places that are dense, walkable, and lively, with events and celebrations for people of all backgrounds, but we also have quiet, contemplative areas to slow our minds down. I am looking forward to afternoon walks in the Water Street redevelopment area between Frog Island and Waterworks parks in Ypsilanti, or appreciating the vernal ponds in early spring at LeFurge Woods Nature Preserve. May this year be one of connections.
Doug CoombeHeather Wysor at Water Street.
All photos by Doug Coombe except Voices of Youth photo by Jamall Bufford.