Musings on the news of the past week:

Ann Arbor school district Superintendent Todd Roberts

JOB WELL DONE: Some jobs are tougher than others, and we can’t think of many jobs more demanding than being the school superintendent in Ann Arbor. That is why we feel both appreciation and regret over the news that Todd Roberts is stepping down. Simply put, Roberts did an exemplary job in an important and difficult role, and we wish him well as he moves to North Carolina to be closer to family and to begin his new role as chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Roberts is leaving the Ann Arbor school district in better shape than he found it. When he became superintendent four years ago, the district was in turmoil over delays and cost-overruns in the construction of Skyline High School. He is credited with getting that project completed, as well as the renovation of other buildings district-wide. He also saw through the development of a strategic plan and ably guided the district through the severe fiscal challenges of recent years. His professionalism, his demeanor and devotion to learning made him a popular and well-respected leader. We congratulate him and thank him for the remarkable job he did under difficult circumstances. He will be remembered with admiration in this community.

BREAKING A BARRIER: Carolyn King didn’t see herself as a pioneer in the women’s rights movement. She was just a kid who wanted to play baseball. So she tried out for the Orioles team in the Ypsilanti American Little League. But it was 1973, and girls weren’t allowed in Little League. The result was a furor and an onslaught of national media attention. King and many of the others involved in this ground-breaking moment spoke to our reporter Jeff Arnold last week for a story chronicling how one child, supported by her parents and several other determined adults, broke an important barrier in women’s athletics. Their recounting of the uproar of the time, and the verbal abuse that King was subjected to when she took the field, reminds us that we should not take for granted take the opportunities that exist for our daughters today. King says she still receives letters from girls thanking her for opening Little League to them. “I’ve become very humbled about the amount of support and the amount of people who stood up for one little girl,’’ King says.

HERALDING THE PAST: You can’t consider the rich history of Ypsilanti without recognizing the role that General Motors and the automobile have played in the community’s evolution. So it seems particularly fitting that organizers of this year’s Ypsilanti Heritage Festival have chosen to honor the thousands of people who worked at the GM Assembly Plant or the Hydra-Matic Plant. The assembly plant closed in 1993, and the transmission plant will close later this year. Communities like Ypsilanti have learned to weather the loss of auto jobs, but the Heritage Festival reminds us that whatever the challenges of today, there is value in remembering and honoring the past. This year’s festival continues today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in and around Riverside Park. Today’s activities include a historic baseball game, the Rubber Duck Race and the Beer Garden and Gaming. Countless volunteer hours go into the planning and presenting of the Heritage Festival every year. We salute the volunteers for their efforts and congratulate Ypsilanti for the ongoing success of this community event, now is in its 22nd year.