The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2223 posts 224 comments

WITH LESS THAN a week before the deadline to register, The League of Women Voters (LWV) is reminding all Michiganders that their voices are important and if they haven’t registered to vote yet, now is the time. The last day to register to…

by P.D. Lesko Since the hiring of City Administrator Steve Powers, compensation for city employees has risen sharply. In 2010, 13 employees earned six-figure base salaries. After three years of Powers’ at the helm, that number has…

DEMOCRAT PAM BYRNES is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Tim Walberg in the 7th Congressional District, which covers much of the area between Lansing and the southern border of Michigan. The district runs from Coldwater on its western…

by Marjorie Winkelman PRAVEENA  RAMASWAMI IS an enthusiastic, energetic woman with sparkling eyes and a streak of bright purple through her dark hair. She is the perfect tour guide at the Thurston Nature Center Fall work-day, greeting…

AAATA is using the whole of the 3 block faces (5th, William, 4th) as de-facto loading zones, and creating a dangerous situation for traffic and pedestrians alike.  It is impossible to turn northbound on 4th off William much of time, and…

DR. ROSE BELLANCA, in following popular president Dr. Larry Whitworth, had no easy way to blaze her own presidential path. She had two strikes against her. First, she is one of a minority of community college presidents in Michigan and the…

by John Briggs THE THANK YOU notes to Washtenaw Dairy, for donations of donuts and coffee and ice-cream and ice-cream bars, pile up. Co-owner Jim Smith puts the letters in a cardboard box as they come in. “We put them in the box, and…

by P.D. Lesko In 2013, The Ann Arbor Independent published articles detailing county employee stays at Las Vegas casinos, resorts and 4-star hotels at taxpayer expense. Analysis of 3,600 credit card charges made in 2014 show no trips to…

IT’S EASY TO conclude that pricey meals and national media coverage might guarantee that a restaurant would be free from the most serious violations of a state’s restaurant health code. In March 2014, New York’s Per Se, with its $310…

IN AUGUST 2014, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 35 states and decreased in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in California (+44,200), Florida (+22,700), and Texas…