The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2249 posts 224 comments

by Geroge Dvorsky MEDITATION YIELDS A surprising number of health benefits, including stress reduction, improved attention, better memory, and even increased creativity and feelings of compassion. But how can something as simple as…

by  Jill Richardson  REALLY, I’M NOT judging you. But I often find it necessary to establish myself as “not a threat” to meat eaters. I also occasionally bump up against militant vegans. Consider this collision I had the other day…

NOWADAYS, IT’S DIFFICULT to imagine a thriving environmental movement absent a revolution in the way we grow, sell, and eat food. Similarly, where would the food movement be without Frances Moore Lappé? Lappé’s debut book, Diet for a…

by Fran Kritz Rachel Evans of Wheaton, Maryland, can tell you precisely when she reached her peak stress level recently: A customer at the pizza shop where Evans works was frustrated at the long line and took it out on her. Then,…

During a ceremony at which awards were given out to metro-Detroit media for reporting, headline writing, design, photography and blogging, among others, The Indy took home its first reporting award.  AFTER BEING NOMINATED by judges in…

MICHIGAN’S GOVERNOR HAS been pushing Lansing lawmakers to craft a long-term solution to address the state’s crumbling roads. He has estimated that Michigan must increase road funding by more than $1 billion a year in order to significantly…

by J.H. Mae A RINGING PHONE is not a welcome thing in my house. It usually heralds a conversation with someone I don’t like, news that someone’s sick or dead, unpleasant family gossip, or maybe – my favorite — a telemarketer or wrong…

by Jessica Wohl WAL-MART IS TRYING to make organic food more accessible to its budget-conscious shoppers. The nation’s largest retailer is making a bigger bet on the fast-growing category, teaming with Wild Oats to sell organic…

by La June Montgomery Tabron RECENT FINDINGS FROM the Kids Count report have been hard to accept. The report titled, “Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children,” by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, indicates that…

ANN ARBOR YMCA Youth Volunteer Corps was named a 2014 Gold Level YVC Affiliate, one of only nine throughout the U.S. and Canada. During 2013 this youth service program offered volunteer opportunities for 236 youth who served more than 6,000…