The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2249 posts 224 comments

Updated on May 30, 2024 with comments from Duane Breijak, Executive Dir. at the National Association of Social Workers, Michigan Chapter, Derrick Jackson and Tanya Hilgendorf, former Executive Dir. at Ozone House when Jackson worked there.…

by P.D. Lesko Between 2020 to 2022, when AAPS went to distance education and shut down childcare, enrollment dropped by over 1,000 students. Pupil funding--$9,608 per child in this year’s state school budget-- plummeted. A loss of 1,000…

by Rep. Kathy Schmaltz This week I supported a resolution adopted by the Michigan House to declare May as Foster Care Awareness Month in the state while reminding other legislators that reforms must be made to help set foster care…

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor Public Schools attempted to have a lawsuit brought by Jaime Nelson-Molnar thrown out on multiple grounds, including governmental immunity. In a blow to the District's legal team, U.S. District Judge George Caram…

Note: This article has been updated with comments from Ann Arbor City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry, and corrected. by P.D. Lesko Mayor Chris Taylor has twice vetoed City Council resolutions passed that would have changed the City's…

by Tashiena L. Combs-Holbrook As a woman serving a life sentence at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, I am urging Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel, to support the Second Look Sentencing Act. This bill would allow…

by P.D. Lesko NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about the Washtenaw County Trial Court and cases where a litigant or litigants appealed a County Trial Court judge's ruling. The majority of local Trial Court rulings are upheld…

by P.D. Lesko Democrat Desirae Simmons, the embattled Ward 3 Ypsilanti City Council member, won her May 7, 2024 recall election against challenger Democrat Rod Johnson. Simmons captured 52.06 percent of the vote. Turnout for the special…

by Kellie Zell To the protesters at my daughter’s University of Michigan graduation on May 4th: I write this because I think it’s important for everyone to understand the impact of their actions.  So I suppose you should look at this…

Download and view Alize Asberry Payne's Dec. 2018 job application, cover letter and resume: Letter-Resume-Application-Alize-Payne_RedactedDownload by P.D. Lesko Records, including public records, show the County's Racial…