The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2257 posts 224 comments

IN 2009, DAWN Gabay, then interim executive director of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) sent a letter to an MDOT official urging MDOT not to lease 23 outdated rail cars from a company owned by Louis Ferris, Jr. Ferris had…

I recently read a column in your February 14, 2015 edition that deeply offended me as a customer, friend and community stakeholder in the article’s mean-spirited and unfair characterization of Rush’s Barbershop, and its beloved proprietor…

by  Debbie Munson Badini ON FEB. 27, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources filed an appeal of a December 2014 federal district court ruling that returned wolves in Michigan and Wisconsin to the federal endangered species list and…

IN 2004, Superior Twp. resident Louis P. Ferris, Jr., purchased dozens of double-decker, stainless-steel passenger rail cars. According to an article published on Feb. 10, 2015 in the Detroit Free Press, “Metra, which operates the Chicago…

by P.D. Lesko At 8 a.m. on a chilly Mar. 5 morning, Ann Arbor City Council member Jack Eaton (D-Ward 4) and Council member Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5) waited in the lobby of Ann Arbor City Hall for the City Clerk's office to open. Both…

by Ryan Hunter ON THE EVENING of Feb. 23, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church of Ypsilanti hosted “A Community Gathering.” Sponsored by Ann Arbor’s NAACP Chapter President, William V. Hampton, Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church Pastor Ricky Jefferson and…

by John Ball ON FEB. 27, U-M Dean of Students, Dr. Laura Blake Jones, released a 10-page decision in response to a Feb. 6 complaint against Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity for its members’ alleged participation in an alcohol and drug-fueled …

THE AATA SPENT about $1.4 million on consultants, marketing and collateral materials to shape and pitch to Washtenaw County  residents a proposed $500 million regional transit plan. The amount spent did not include hundreds of hours of…

Why Ann Arbor Needs to Vote on Deer Culling I strongly believe that Ann Arbor should use humane methods of deer management, which have a proven track record as being far safer, more effective, and even less expensive. At Ann…

by Brent McDermott IN “THE WIZARD of Oz,” Dorothy longs for adventure in the Emerald City. A melting witch and a troupe of flying monkeys later, she pines for the comforts of her home in Kansas. She clicks her heels three times, and…