THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT

 BILL TO PROHIBIT ABORTION DISCRIMINATION SIGNED

THE NEWS: A law enacted Wednesday will ban Michigan employers from discriminating against women who have an abortion and, opponents contend, force them to cover the procedure if they o er health insurance.

 UM BOARD OKS PURCHASE OF RON WEISER PROPERTIES

THE NEWS: e University of Michigan board of regents has authorized the purchase of dozens of properties owned or controlled by one of its regents, along with a handful of nearby properties, for up to $75 million. e board late ursday gave the university the go-ahead to buy up to 49 sites with apartment buildings and houses that have been converted into apartments from regent Ron Weiser, founder of property management rm McKinley Inc., who has been assembling them for the university and is selling them at cost. He recused himself from the vote.

WHY IT MATTERS: UM plans in the coming years to construct a second phase of new university housing on the properties, which are in the area bounded by South Division Street, South Fifth Avenue, East Madison and Hill Street and adjacent to 6.54 acres of land the university acquired for $24 million from the now-shuttered Fingerle Lumber in 2018.

e measure’s backers say the intent is not to require coverage but to target discrimination such as ring or retaliating against employees.

WHY IT MATTERS: e law, if it is interpreted to mandate coverage, will not a ect self-insured employers that pay directly for medical care and are regulated by the federal government, not the state government. Self-funded insurance is typically used by larger employers. About two-thirds of covered workers nationally were in a self-funded plan in 2022, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 DTE FOUNDATION NAMES NEW LEADER

THE NEWS: Lynette Dowler, president of the DTE Energy Foundation and vice president of public a airs for DTE, is retiring after a 40-year career with the company. Dowler has led the foundation since 2018, overseeing several business units and functions including safety, nuclear supply chain management and the River Rouge and Trenton Channel power plants. Rodney Cole, previously vice president of the foundation and director of community engagement for DTE Energy, will succeed Dowler as president of DTE Energy Foundation and DTE corporate citizenship.

WHY IT MATTERS: e DTE Energy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DTE, supports arts and culture, community transformation, economic progress, education and employment, and environment and human needs in communities where DTE does business. Last year, the foundation provided more than $15 million in grant support to over 300 nonpro ts.

 SAM ZELL, BILLIONAIRE UM DONOR, DIES AT 81

THE NEWS: Billionaire businessman and major University of Michigan donor Sam Zell died ursday at age 81, according to his company, Equity Group Investments. Zell died due to complications from a recent illness.

Arts And Culture

Longtime Detroit Institute of Arts chair to depart

 After a $158 museum expansion, two successful operating millage campaigns and the spin-o of the Detroit Institute of Arts from the city of Detroit, Chairman Eugene Gargaro Jr. is ready for a break.

Gargaro, who’s chaired the DIA for the past 20 years, will step down once his successor is named. e museum’s governance and nominating committee, chaired by director Bonnie Larson, will lead the search for the next chair, the DIA said.

During his tenure at the DIA, Gargaro led the institution through signi cant change,

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WHY IT MATTERS: Sam Zell and his wife, Helen, have been strong supporters of their alma mater, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, over the years. Under their leadership, the Zell Family Foundation has provided nancial support to UM of more than $150 million, according to a university posting.

 FORMER CHUNG’S BUILDING SOLD TO DEVELOPER

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THE NEWS: A Harper Woods-based developer has purchased the building that used to house the storied Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine restaurant in Midtown. American Community Developers closed on the sale Wednesday for an undisclosed price starting with the renovation and expansion of the museum and reinstallation of its galleries with a new, visitor-centric (rather than art historian focus) before its reopening in 2007, something that captured the attention of museums around the world. and intends to put one or more food and beverage operations into the former restaurant location.

In the years following, Gargaro helped the DIA weather the Great Recession of 2008-09 and helped it secure approval for a 10-year operating millage in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties in 2012 and renewal of the millage in 2020, putting the museum among few nationally supported by a millage.

WHY IT MATTERS: It is a remnant of Detroit’s Chinatown, originally located, near Michigan Avenue and ird, but the enclave was demolished to make way for the John C. Lodge Freeway/M-10.