On Wednesday evening I walked past a spot where the bed for a new sidewalk had been prepared. I hoped it would be my chance at last to see a brand spanking new stamp, hours old. Instead, I returned on Thursday evening to the disappointing sight of a completed and unstamped sidewalk. I really need to have a word with the Director of Public Service about the proliferation of scofflaw contractors.

The new sidewalk is in front of a vacant lot on the east side of South Magnolia Avenue between Michigan and Prospect. If I’m judging this correctly, this stretch of walk originally fronted a small 1914 house that was demolished in May 2021. A similar one was also demolished one lot north, in 2015, and the gap is occupied by one of the ubiquitous urban farms that serve as the Ingham County Land Bank’s favorite all-purpose hammer.