The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2257 posts 224 comments

THE ENVIRONMENTAL Working Group (EWG) has just published its guide to the most and least pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables. The #1 “dirtiest”?  Apples.  The remedy?  Buy from the EWG “clean 15” list or buy organic. The “dirty…

by Robert Jensen AFTER YEARS OF being constantly annoyed and often angry about the historical denial built into Thanksgiving Day, I published an essay in November 2005 suggesting we replace the feasting with fasting and create a National…

AT THE NOVEMBER 18th City Council meeting, five Council members and Mayor John Hieftje voted to elect Ward 4 Council member Margie Teall Mayor Pro Tempore. Teall, who has served on City Council since 2002, has the worst meeting attendance…

Please Note: Kai Petainen is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. ANN ARBOR CITY Administrator Steve Powers (below) sits on the Executive Committee of Ann Arbor SPARK. SPARK is funded with public money from both state…

FORMER ANN ARBOR Public School Superintendent Patricia Green, on the subject of public records, told District parents that if they wanted to view public records, they should use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). On October 28, 2014,…

DUE TO THE shutdown of the federal government, Bureau of Labor Statistics data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities were suspended from October 1 through October 16. The September 2013 Regional and State Employment and…

ANN ARBOR OFFICIALS who serve in Lansing recently voted on reform bills that require those who apply for welfare and unemployment benefits to be tested for illegal drug use. Those who test positive for illegal drug use would be denied their…

THE SUSTAINABLE food movement continues to transform fields of corn, soy and CAFOs to more verdant, bountiful lands filled with organic produce, heirloom greens and pasture-raised livestock. Countless more school and community gardens have…

Please Note: Katherine Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. by P.D. Lesko THE ANN ARBOR District Library Board members have clearly not given up on the idea of razing the main library on Fifth Avenue…

WARD 4 COUNCIL member Margie Teall and Ward 3 Council member Christopher Taylor recently co-sponsored a resolution objecting to an immense electronic sign the University of Michigan has placed on its own property adjacent to Stadium…