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Enviro
PFAS: Here are Ways to Filter out Harmful “Forever Chemicals” at Home
by Dr. Kyle Doudrick
Chemists invented PFAS in the 1930s to make life easier: Nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant carpet were all made possible by PFAS. But in recent years, the…
Will New Green Rental Housing Ordinance Push Rents Even Higher? Landlords Say, “Yes”
by Jaime A. Hope
Ann Arbor's City Council recently passed a green-energy housing ordinance. The Exec. Dir. of the Washtenaw Area Apartment Association says the new ordinance will increase red tape and expenses for rental housing owners…
City Planning Commissioners’ Removal of Hundreds of Acres of Public Parkland From New City Land Use Plan Is Improper, Says Neighborhood Group
The unexplained deletion paves the way for development, subverts the will of the voters, and exposes the city to potential legal and financial fallout, says Ann Arbor Neighborhood Network group in its "Ann Arbor’s Parkland and Public…
Since Implementing Single-Stream Recycling, Ann Arbor’s Landfill Diversion Rate Has Plummeted
In 2009, half of materials collected by Recycle Ann Arbor from Ann Arbor residents were diverted from the landfill. Between 2019 and 2024, two-thirds of the materials collected within Ann Arbor by Recycle Ann Arbor went to the landfill.
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DTE and Ann Arbor Sign New Agreement: DTE to Support A2Zero Climate Goals
Officials from the City of Ann Arbor and DTE Energy joined on Earth Day, April 22, to sign a new heating franchise, the first in the country to include a climate agreement with associated activities that aims to improve health, safety and…
Ann Arbor Neighborhood Network Launches Petition to Ask City Officials to Suspend Work on Master Plan Until There’s More Robust Citizen Input
by Bruce Laidlaw
Michigan law requires zoning ordinances to be based on master plans adopted by planning commissions and the municipal governing bodies. Ann Arbor's Planning Commission is working on a revision of the City's master plan…
Despite Gov. Whitmer’s Promises to “Fix the Damn Roads,” Michigan’s Roads Remain Among Worst in the Nation
by John LaPlane
Michigan's rural interstate highways are safer than those in all but two states, but its rural and urban interstates are in worse condition than those of most states. That is according to the Reason…
City’s Action to Revoke Center of the City Charter Amendment is a Betrayal
Alan Haber serves on the Ann Arbor Community Commons Initiating Committee, AnnArborCommunityCommons.org
by Alan Haber
While they brought it forward with smiles and promises of a new jewel in the Center of the City, this new Library…
Cheap Carbon Offsets − are More About Greenwashing Than Helping the Climate
by Dr. Seehon Kim
Carbon offsets have become big business as more companies and cities make promises to protect the climate but can’t meet the goals on their own.
When a company or city buys carbon offsets, it pays a project…
Downtown Parking System Has Lost $30M, Office Vacancy Rates Near “Great Recession” Levels
11/20/24 Note: This article has been corrected. Stephen Lange Ranzini is the president of University Bank not Bank of Ann Arbor.
by P.D. Lesko
Oxford Companies and Crawford Hoying, partners in the Ann Arbor South apartment building…