The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team 2249 posts 224 comments

Updated 11/7/23: The explanation of how a Guardian ad Litem is assigned and paid has been expanded. by P.D. Lesko The Ann Arbor Independent received documents that show the Honorable Tracy E. Van den Bergh of the Washtenaw County…

by Lee Enochs As a life-long fan of the University of Michigan football program, it greatly pains me to write this: it's time for Jim Harbaugh to be fired for being embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal involving his coaching staff. …

by P.D. Lesko Katie Waddle is a Ph.D. student in mathematics at the University of Michigan. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an M.Ed in Secondary Math Education from Stanford, and an M.A. in Mathematics…

By Leslie Felper The British production company Aardman, best known for award-winning shorts such as the evergreen Creature Comforts and short-to-feature franchises like Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, specializes in…

11/1/23: Updated with comments from former City Council member Jeff Hayner. by P.D. Lesko Nonprofits in at least 28 states contribute what are often known as payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, to the localities in which they are…

by P.D. Lesko "This mental health system finally broke me...abandoned by whomever was supposed to be helping me every step of the way. Drs Madjar and Bright seemed to care but every other person or 'team' let me drop through the cracks;…

by Lysne Tait Anyone who has had a period knows that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you don’t have the products you need when you need them. Being a teen is already hard enough, but lack of menstrual products…

by Thomas F. Wieder The Ann Arbor City Council’s recent passage of Its Resolution to Initiate a Statue to Honor Kathy Kozachenko is one of the odder and most ill-conceived Council actions that I have observed in more than a half-century…

9/20/23: This story was edited to remove a mention of the Ypsilanti Public Library. by Monica Ross-Williams “I’m 83-years-old, have lived in Ypsilanti all my life and I’m afraid to visit downtown Ypsilanti,” an Ypsilanti community…

by P.D. Lesko In response to tips from Ypsilanti city employees, The Ann Arbor Independent submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests about the credit card usage of former Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan. A Sept. 12…