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Ann Arbor District Library Rule Number 7—What “Dozing” Meant for Homeless Library Patrons During the Polar Vortex
by P.D. Lesko
A Washtenaw County employee told City Council in January 2014 that Ann Arbor’s homeless men, women, children and families could use a variety of public buildings during the day to escape temps. that plummeted to -20F. One…
Ann Arbor Residents Submitted More Freedom of Information Act Requests Than Local News Media in 2013
by Rob Smith
ACCORDING TO THE City of Ann Arbor’s log of FOIA requests submitted between January 2013 and May 2014 519 FOIA requests were submitted to the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s office. Thirty-three of the 519 requests came from The Ann…
The Case for Abolishing Juvenile Prisons: How Isolating Minors Who Need Connection Endangers Us All
FROM THEIR VERY founding in America in 1825, juvenile prisons were designed to rip teenagers from their homes and communities and isolate them as punishment. Nearly two centuries later, they operate under the same design, despite research…
An Interview With Lily Tomlin—Ernestine, Existentialism & Hope
by P.D. Lesko
“PLEASE, CALL ME Lily,” says the woman on the phone, with a warmth that doesn’t betray the obvious fact that she has extended the same invitation to scores of interviewers. She was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 1,…
Officials Charge High Fees for Public Records Relating to Alleged Retaliatory Dismissal of City Employee
ANN ARBOR CITY Administrator Steve Powers, hired in 2011, has sent an email to a City Council member claiming that high fees assessed for providing public records are justified because “...there is a direct benefit provided to the…
Commissioners Unaware of Investigation of Head Start Director As County Administrator Pushed to End Funding For Head Start & Transfer Administration to WISD
Information about the outside investigation was shared with commissioners “after the fact” and after commissioners had voted to eliminate county funding for Head Start. One commissioner asks whether the County’s funding for and…
Interview: Journalist and Author Richard Louv
by David Roberts
RICHARD LOUV IS an anecdote machine. As we milled about awaiting lunch-hour seating, he kept up a constant stream of witty, telling stories — about “no running” signs on playgrounds, clueless environmental leaders,…
Costco Democrats Vs. Home Depot Republicans—Consumers Watching Where Businesses Target Political Contributions
The Koch brothers, billionaires, have created a tangled web of 17 nonprofits, PACs and businesses through which they funneled over $400 million dollars in 2012 aimed at influencing national and state politics. Most companies doing business…
Former County Head Start Director’s Extensive Travel Months Before Retirement, Including A Trip To Hawaii, Received “Verbal” Approval
Washtenaw County’s former Head Start Director Patricia McGee was put on leave weeks before she retired in December 2011. A county official told a reporter in December 2011 that Ms. McGee was being investigated due to unspecified…
Interview: Urban Farming Legend Will Allen
by Twilight Greenaway
IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL book, The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities, we see a different side of MacArthur Genius and urban farmer Will Allen. The book takes readers behind the…
