| January 17, 2022 
 Former University of Michigan president Dr. Mark Schlissel told an employee he was “lonely,” sent her gifts from Amazon and Etsy and tried to entice her with knish, according to dozens of emails released by the university. Schlissel was fired on Saturday, Jan. 15 after the Board of Regents investigated an anonymous complaint of his inappropriate relationship with an employee. “After an investigation, we learned that Dr. Schlissel, over a period of years, used his University email account to communicate with that subordinate in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the University,” the board said in a press release. Schlissel, who is married to his college school sweetheart Monica Shwebs, has served as the university’s president since 2014. READ MORE ►Why did University of Michigan fire Mark Schlissel? He broke a rule he introduced this summer  Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and this year will be celebrated with marches, keynote speakers and community service in remembrance of the slain civil rights activist. Born Jan. 15, 1929, King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in his honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, although it wasn’t officially observed in all 50 states until 2000. SEE THE EVENTS  Almost one in every 100 Michigan residents was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2021, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More than one in 1,000 died of the virus. In a year where some expected the pandemic to ebb with the introduction of vaccines, 2021 proved to be even more deadly than 2020. There are multiple reasons for that, experts say. One is vaccine hesitancy: While 95% of Michigan residents now qualify for vaccines, less than two-thirds of those eligible have gotten even one shot. READ MORE ►Free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests available to order beginning Wednesday  The FBI had concerns about an undercover informant’s overreach in the investigation into an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a defense attorney said. The government also had concerns that the paid informant had planned to travel to Michigan to harm someone – and may have possessed a firearm despite being a convicted felon, the attorney said. FBI memos, turned over to the defense in the discovery process, show that confidential sources manipulated the investigation, attorney Scott Graham wrote in a motion to dismiss charges. READ MORE ►FBI, informants drove plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, charges should be dropped, defendants say  The end of last week came with some exciting news for nostalgic Michigan music fans. The former name of metro Detroit's most popular outdoor concert venue is returning -- Pine Knob lives! And it's an exciting year for the venue, which is celebrating 50 years of concerts in Clarkston. Want to celebrate the anniversary and the return of this iconic name? You will have plenty of opportunities to do just that, as there is a full lineup of events scheduled for this year. There's Styx, Santana, Backstreet Boys and plenty of other shows on the calendar. Check it out: THE FULL LIST Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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