The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2249 posts 224 comments

by Ken Wishnia Sometimes the only place where bankers go to jail for their criminal activities is in the pages of crime fiction. LET’S FACE IT: some of the most ideologically committed people rarely read fiction, even socially…

While spending increases on meals out, travel, luxury lodging and cell phones, monthly car allowance costs drop significantly from a high in 2010. UNDER FORMER CITY administrator Roger Fraser in 2009 and 2010, according to information…

by Jeff Bryant TWO VIDEOS CAPTURED just about everything you need to know about the status of the movement known as “education reform.” The first filmed event was a staged encounter between two prominent advocates for what is…

by Boz

by Jack Eaton I REALLY APPRECIATE hearing from many of you about various issues related to homelessness, emergency shelter and affordable housing. I do see a problem in this discussion where some issues are conflated and some opinions…

by Jill Richardson THE INVENTION OF the refrigerator was bad news for the bluefin tuna. So was the invention of the airplane, as well as the creation of modern industrial fishing methods. All in all, technology has not been good for this…

In May 2012 former Superintendent Dr. Patricia Green told parents to use the Freedom of Information Act to access public records and information. The new Superintendent urges transparency and minimal reliance FOIA for routine requests. …

by Owen Davis FOR PEOPLE LOOKING to “disrupt” public education, it’s become requisite to bemoan the “educational status quo” — a phrase meant to evoke images of poor kids striving against the impediments of failing schools and…

by Teresa Wiltz WHEN I WAS a little girl living in Staten Island, whenever my dad needed a new suit, we’d ferry it into Manhattan and head on over to Barneys. There, I’d spend many a happy hour playing in the racks while my dad tried on…

GROUNDWATER BENEATH  A swath of the city of Ann Arbor is currently contaminated by the suspected carcinogen 1,4 dioxane. The City of Ann Arbor website has a FAQ page dedicated to answering questions about the contamination. Likewise, the…