The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2249 posts 224 comments

AS OF DECEMBER 1, 2012, Ann Arbor city engineer Homayoon Pirooz “retired” with a pension funded by the taxpayers of Ann Arbor. However, in a scenario that has become common, Mr. Pirooz did not retire. He took a new job—a full-time position…

by Warren Liverance OUR LEGISLATURE AND governor set their sights on the reform of the public education system. According to a Free Press article “more than 50 percent of high schools have fewer than 10 percent of their students…

by Chris Savage TO SAY THAT Republicans are on a mission to destroy unions in this country is not an understatement. Across the country, and particularly in the Midwest, Republican legislators and governors have spent the past three…

by P.D. Lesko MY TWO SONS have been, at various times, advanced in social studies, reading, mathematics and science, according to their scores on the MEAP tests. During the past two years, their overall proficiency scores dropped…

NO THEY’RE NOT exchanging racy comments. However, a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered 130 pages of emails between David Askins, the editor of a local news site called AnnArborChronicle.com, and Ward 1 City Council member Sabra…

by Michael J. Brennan MICHIGANDERS ARE feeling the sting of a slow economic recovery — especially throughout Greater Detroit — and the lingering effects of the Great Recession are hitting families each night around the dinner table. As…

A FEW YEARS ago, I met with my former high school social studies teacher to catch up over drinks. “Miss F” was one of my favorite teachers and we hadn’t seen each other in about 12 years. As we reminisced about our field trips, my other…

THE NUMBER OF forcible rapes committed on the University of Michigan’s campus and/or reported to the University’s police dropped from a high of 75 in 2005 to a low of 8 in 2010. Between 2011 and 2012, however, the number of forcible…

ON NOVEMBER 8th, Huff Post Politics writer Ashley Woods posted a piece titled, “Michigan Governor Poll Shows Close Race Between Rick Snyder, Mark Schauer.” In her piece Woods writes, “The contest for Michigan’s governor’s race may be closer…

JUST 22 PERCENT of candidates passed a beefed-up version of Michigan’s basic-skills tests, up from more than 80 percent under the previous iteration. The plummeting passing rates are due to the state’s overhaul of all of its…