The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2253 posts 224 comments

ANN ARBOR SPARK officials have refused to provide audited financial statements to the public and elected officials. When Governor Rick Snyder and MEDC CEO Michael Finney headed the organization, the Annual Report claimed that over 12,000…

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION of University Professors has released its 2013 Salary Survey. The comprehensive look at what colleges and universities across the U.S. pay their faculty includes breakdowns of state-by-state data. In Michigan,…

AT THE NOVEMBER 7th City Council meeting, Ward 4 City Council member Margie Teall made an observation: She said that Ann Arbor locals shop at big box stores and that downtown is supported by “tourists.” It should be noted that Teall did not…

Editor’s Note: Kai Petainen serves on the Editorial Board of The Ann Arbor Independent. THESE ARE THE facts: 1.  Between June 2009 and November 2013, the City of Ann Arbor gave Ann Arbor SPARK $5.1 million dollars from its General…

ANN ARBOR CITY Attorney Stephen K. Postema has represented the City Council as its legal eagle since 2003. He advises the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator and oversees the City Attorney’s Office, with a staff of 10 attorneys and a…

MAYOR JOHN HIEFTJE’S propensity to populate the city’s boards and commissions with what City Council members allege are his political cronies has long irked political insiders. This, among other reasons, is why there is a quiet movement…

by Joseph DiSano THE BIGGEST PARLOR game played among political observers is “Will John Dingell retire?”  And this year is no different — except there actually may be some merit to the speculation. It will be a sad day when the…

AT THE END of October, a federal judge denied a request from the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit aiming to block health care subsidies in states not running their own healthcare exchange sites. Put another way, if the plaintiffs in…

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Board members Joan Lowenstein and Keith Orr took to the blog-o-sphere to endorse their candidates for Ann Arbor City Council. The irony of DDA Board members endorsing in local elections is as rich as Devon…

IN SEPTEMBER 2011 former Ann Arbor News government reporter Tom Gantert filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information concerning the compensation of then AATA managers. The FOIA revealed that while AATA was running a deficit of…