The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2257 posts 224 comments

by P.D. Lesko Fifth Ward Council member Carsten Hohnke has had enough. In his email to constituents, Hohnke told readers he was stepping down after two terms to "spend more time with his family." A classic political dodge. Norman Fowler, a…

by Joseph DiSano It’s the time of year when every wannabe pundit and political Nostradamus unveils their prognostications on this year elections. Guess what? No one knows for sure, and those that claim to are lying. A common prediction…

by P.D. Lesko Between 2003 and 2010, while total enrollment in Ann Arbor’s middle and high schools fell, average class sizes increased significantly, and so have actual class sizes, resulting in classrooms stuffed with 10, 12 and sometimes…

by Ernesto Van Dersar John Wiley & Sons, one of the world’s largest textbook publishers, is continuing its efforts to crack down on BitTorrent piracy. The company has now named several people who allegedly shared Wiley titles online,…

by Robert Paarlberg From Whole Foods recyclable cloth bags to Michelle Obama's organic White House garden, modern eco-foodies are full of good intentions. We want to save the planet. Help local farmers. Fight climate change — and childhood…

Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a…

by Rob Smith It's not unfair to say that the Michigan GOP has been muscling aside the Democrats in Lansing on their way to pass some pretty pernicious legislation. Cut 11,000 families off of state assistance? Check. Expand Public Act 4…

by P.D. Lesko Saline's mayor, Gretchen Driskell, formed an "exploratory committee" in February 2012 to see if she could have a snowball's chance in hell of winning back the 52nd District State House seat from Repblican Mark Ouimet. The…

by P.D. Lesko Fourth Ward Council member Margie Teall has talked a good game for a long time. The incredibly incurious (Ann Arbor News/AnnArbor.com), overly obsequious (Ann Arbor Observer) or just plain naive (Michigan Daily) local media…

by Rob Smith It's been a tough couple of weeks for Governor Rick Snyder in the Michigan courts. First a Wayne County judge declared closed-door meetings of the finance team which had been evaluating whether Detroit should be forced to…